Whispers in the dark
by Vaniwa
Summary: Fred and George unsuccessfully tested one of their products on Hermione, and now Fred and Hermione are stuck with the consequences as they can hear each other speak wherever they are. Desperate to try to fix this, they grow closer together in the search for a cure.
1. Messing with the wrong witch

**Whispers in the dark**

**Chapter 1: Messing with the wrong witch**

_**A/N:**__ I own nothing except my mistakes. __**Also, **__I always write random story ideas into a notebook, and this is one of those story ideas I stumbled across when I went through that notebook a while ago, and figured this could be a really interesting concept to work with, so let's see how it turns out._

Summer break was creeping by eerily fast, as they were now enjoying their last day at the Burrow, having returned from the Quidditch World Cup just about a week ago, and were preparing themselves for a new year at Hogwarts.

However, two certain redheads were refraining Hermione from enjoying her dessert as well as she normally would have as she saw them glancing around mischievously, a defined grin on both of their faces as they were talking to each other in hushed whispers. Knowing better than to worry about it - after all, when weren't the two ever up to something? - she brushed it off and happily ate her ice cream, laughing at a joke Ginny cracked about her gnome catching accident. Apparently she had thrown it so hard that she had nearly flown right after it.

"_Do you s'pose it worked?"_ Hermione froze in mid-action, the smile quick to fade away from her face as she could have sworn that she just heard Fred's voice as clear as day in her ears. It was like he was sitting right next to her, talking in a quiet room. "What in the world?" She whispered under her breath, more than freaked out by the occurrence.

A sudden movement on her left caught her attention, and she was in time to see Fred snapping his head her way, a look of terror on his face. That couldn't have been a coincidence. Could it have been? Squinting her eyes in suspicion, she slowly brought her hand to her mouth, covering it. "Fred?" She tried, waiting with bated breath. If he wouldn't be able to hear her, then she just made a complete fool out of herself. Yet, she couldn't decide what she thought was worse. Him actually being able to hear her, or her making a fool out of herself if he couldn't.

Yet, as his eyes widened to such an extent that it looked as if they could fall right out of their sockets, she knew he had heard her.

Feeling the anger swell up inside her as she _knew _that they had just tested one of their products on her, and apparently unsuccessfully so as well, as he clearly didn't expect that kind of a result, she willed herself to take a few quick breaths. "I'll be right back." Hermione announced with a forced smile, yet tried to make it as natural as possible to not raise any suspicion.

Hurrying up the stairs when she was out of vision from the kitchen, she opened the bathroom door and said the first thing she could think of. "Fred Weasley, get your arse to the bathroom, _now._" She ordered, feeling just slightly foolish for talking out loud into nothingness, not even knowing with guarantee if he could hear her when she wasn't in the same room. Yet, her anger suppressed any feelings of shame, and was left to pace back and forth in the bathroom as she waited for him to come upstairs. That is, if he heard her.

"_Just off to the bathroom, little brother. Be back in a minute,"_ Hermione felt the colour drain from her face at hearing his voice so loud and clear in her ears. The feeling of hearing him as if she was in the same room without him actually being there freaked her out beyond anything, and so she impatiently tapped her foot against the tile floor, willing for him to hurry up.

The door opened with a soft click, and when Hermione turned her head to it, she saw the same colour drained face staring back at her. Never before had she seen Fred so perplexed, and his chest rose with such a sharp inhalation that she couldn't help but wonder if he actually was trying to muster up the courage to step inside and face her.

"What in Merlin's name did you do?" She said through gritted teeth, forcing herself to keep her voice quiet. They weren't that far away from downstairs, and any raised voices would alarm the others. And what would they tell them? That they could now hear each other talk wherever they were? No, thanks.

"I swear, Hermione, I have no idea what's going on right now." Fred said, taking an instinctive step back as she threateningly placed her hands on her hips, closing the distance between them. "Honestly, Fred, we both know you did something."

Fred scratched the back of his head, lowering his gaze to the ground before looking back up again. "I mean, yeah, we might have sneaked a product of ours into your dessert when you weren't looking, you know, just to see if it worked." Hermione honestly felt like she could scream right now. Testing on others when they weren't even sure if it worked? How bloody stupid were they? "Let met guess, it didn't work?" She suggested, her voice shrill.

"I mean-" but Fred fell short, heaving a deep sigh as he leaned his back against the bathroom door, his hands coming up to rub through his hair as he tried to think. "What were you going to test on me, anyway?" Hermione demanded, not feeling the slightest amount of pity for him. After all, she was the victim here.

"We were aiming for a product that would make the user say the very first thing on their mind. You know, just for kicks, maybe they'd say something embarrassing and provoke some laughs." Fred said.

Raising an incredulous eyebrow at him, she stood momentarily speechless, feeling her hand brushing against her side as it shook with adrenaline. "Do you realise," her voice was eerily quiet, though sharp breaths accentuated her words, "that even if your product would have been successful, you'd still have overstepped the rights of a person's privacy?"

He pushed himself off the wall, taking a step her way, but she didn't back off. She was going to fight him on this matter until she could finally knock some sense into his thick head. There were some things you simply could not do to another person, even if it was just for fun.

"What's the matter, Hermione? Afraid you have a lot of embarrassing things to spill?" Fred taunted, a light sneer playing on his lips. It's not often that she saw him like this. Usually she'd always see the twins with some sort of wicked grin on their faces, or at very rare occasions just a neutral expression, but an agitated one? That was new. Clearly he didn't like to be scolded.

Spluttering, she silently scolded herself for her reaction. "What? No, of course not. It's just that it's no one's business what goes on inside of my head." She defended.

Fred shook his head, taking a small step back, and Hermione took a deep breath of fresh air. It wasn't until he had given her some more personal space that she realized how much her muscles had tensed up.

"Well, how do you plan on fixing this?" Hermione asked. Though she would have loved to continue their previous argument, she was currently a little bit more worried about what was actually going on right now.

Fred shrugged, almost so casually that she wanted to grab him and shake him until there would finally come some sense into him. "That's it? That's all you're going to give me? A stupid-" Hermione abruptly stopped mid-sentence. She was beginning to talk really loudly now, and she could have sworn she heard footsteps near the staircase.

"Hermione, dear? Fred, are you two up there?" It was Mrs Weasley, her voice muffled by the closed door. "We'll be down in a minute, Mum," Fred yelled back, making Hermione jump up a little as his voice rang loud in such an enclosed space.

The footsteps took off again, and Hermione continued where she left off, this time quieting her voice. "You can't just cause all this trouble and then shrug, Fred." She scolded, which made his eyebrows furrow together, a serious irritation hinting in his voice.

"What do you want me to do, Hermione? I don't even know what went wrong." She took a step closer again, her renewed anger giving her some much needed courage to stand up to him, and she used her index finger to poke hard into his chest. "You'd better figure it out, and soon."

With that she pushed past him and opened the bathroom door, storming down the staircase a little too loud, and stopping just before entering the kitchen again, taking a moment to take a few uneven breaths, before stepping back inside.

"Everything all right, dear?" Mrs Weasley asked, and Hermione forced a smile, though it was difficult to do. "Yes, just had a nasty scare when I bumped into Fred in the dark upstairs." Mrs Weasley nodded, then returned back to her husband, where she continued her conversation.

Taking back her seat, she made brief eye contact with George, who seemed to eye her suspiciously, and so she diverted her gaze to the now empty bowls standing on the table.

A few moments later a cold breeze swept past her ankles, and the next thing she knew she saw Fred taking his seat next to his twin brother. George leaned into him, whispering something under his breath, and Hermione didn't even have to guess what he said.

"Don't say anything," she whispered under her breath. "What did you say?" Harry asked her, and Hermione looked up to see Harry looking at her, an apologetic look on his face, genuinely not having heard her and thinking she spoke to him.

She managed the tiniest of a smile, and shook her head. "Just coughed," she said, and then focused her gaze back to Fred, who was looking at her questioningly. Glaring her eyes in what she thought would be a threatening way to communicate that he should keep his mouth shut, he eventually heaved a sigh.

"_Ran into her by accident. Just had the use the bathroom, is all." _She could hear him say. A shiver rushed over her entire body, a knot forming in her stomach at the uneasiness of the situation. It was as if he spoke directly into her ear with every word he said.

Every breath, every sigh, she could hear it all.

And when she looked up once more at him, and saw his pale face, reflected by the bright lights in the room, looking as if he had just seen Voldemort rise out of his ice cream bowl, she knew it affected him just as much as it did to her. At least that satisfied her enough to ease a bit of her anger.


	2. Laughter prevents conflict

**Whispers in the dark**

**Chapter 2: Laughter prevents conflict**

_**A/N:**__ I own nothing except my mistakes._

"_D'you think two cockroaches would be too much?" _Hermione stirred upright in her chair, trying her hardest to concentrate on Professor Sprout, who was explaining the Herbivicus Charm, but failed miserably.

Since the failed prank of the twins yesterday, she had been on constant edge every time Fred opened his mouth. And blimey, did he talk much. She's had a horrible night's sleep as he had been chatting away with George the night before – though thankfully had not slipped a word about what happened – until she had angrily hissed into her pillow (careful to not wake Ginny up, who she had shared a room with) telling him to shut up.

At last he did oblige, but her peace ended the early morning after, and it had been constantly going on till their very first day of classes at Hogwarts. Honestly, it was a miracle that the twins still managed to pass most of their classes with reasonable grades, despite constantly chatting through all of them.

Sometimes she'd get lucky and could slip in a whisper to tell him to keep quiet, but most times, like right now, she had the misfortune of not being able to do a thing about it. If she were to open up her mouth right this minute, she'd surely get points deducted for interrupting a teacher's explanation.

"_Aren't you supposed to be the one with the brains, George? Blimey, I already told you that adding a ginger root will make the whole cauldron blow up." _The words came rushing out so fast, that it almost fascinated her that he even still had the breath to add something else. _"Y'know, I'd love to see it splash all over Snape's face, but I doubt we'd ever make it out of the class alive."_

Hermione unconsciously shook her head at what she heard, hoping for them that Snape wasn't around to hear what he had said. Though, truth to be told, she'd much rather would like to listen to Fred talking himself out of that situation than him joking about it with his brother.

"So, what exactly is it we have to do?" Ron asked, propping his head off of his hand after Professor Sprout had finished her instruction, extracting an exaggerated scoff from Hermione. "Honestly, Ron, do you ever pay attention?"

His lips formed into a loopy grin, batting his eyelashes with emphasis, sugar-coating his voice as he spoke, "Why would I do that if I have such an amazing friend who does it for me?"

Hermione rolled her eyes, then huffed as she couldn't help but flip his Herbology book open to the right page. She wasn't going to explain the whole thing that Professor Sprout just did, but she also couldn't help but have a weak spot for helping him. "Read it up yourself," it came out more stern than she actually felt, which widened his grin, because he knew she didn't mean it.

"D'you need me to get you anything, 'Mione?" Harry asked as he got off his seat, having already taken a few steps from the table, and by the looks of it had stopped mid-track as he presumably had just realized it'd be nice to ask her. Better late than never, right? 

And so she smiled at him, "Yes, could you bring me some Mooncalf dung?" This made Harry scrunch his eyebrows together in confusion. "Mooncalf? I thought we needed Dragon dung."

Hermione shook her head, shot a quick glance from the corner of her eye to Ron's textbook – who was, by the way, so up close with his nose in the books that she was beginning to wonder whether he was trying to smell the plant that they'd help attend – just to check if she was right, and then fixed her eyes back on Harry as she knew she was, "Dragon dung could work, yes, but Mooncalf dung is more efficient when it comes to stimulating the growth in a more effective way. Especially when we're expected to use the Herbivicus Charm, though did you know you have to be careful using it around Creatures? It's proven to-"

"Harry?"

She heaved a sigh as she saw that he had already sneakily made an escape, and tutted her lips. Honestly, she sometimes really couldn't understand why the boys didn't relish in additional education. To her it felt like the greatest joy to learn something new.

"_I've been thinking about our new product," _Hermione stopped reading the instructions in her textbook at the mention of a new product. Were they mad? _"and I think we should do some tweaking."_

Harry came back with three pots filled with Mooncalf dung, and handed Ron and her one, setting the last one in front on himself. _"I don't think it's working, mate. We tried it, and absolutely nothing." _Subtly hinting at improving the product. Hermione scoffed under her breath, unbelievable. He still wanted to make the product work, even when he saw how horribly wrong it could get.

Hermione leaned over the table so she could grab a seed from the basket that was centred on the table, and carefully moved the Mooncalf dung fertiliser aside, dug the seed into the dirt, and making sure she covered the dirt well with Mooncalf dung again, she closed the little hole she had made.

"_Must have been something wrong with-" _he stopped mid-sentence, and she assumed that Snape had just walked by. He remained silent for a good minute, and then continued talking in a bit more of a hushed voice. _"Must have been something wrong with the ingredients."_

Letting her finger glide over her textbook, she jutted at it when she found the spell to help this flower grow. Without holding her wand she muttered the words, making sure she pronounced them right before trying it with wand.

When she was confident she could do it, she grabbed her wand from her back pocket and pointed it at the plant.

"_Here's the thing, though, I can't find the bloody list with ingredients anywhere." _Hermione closed her mouth right when she was about to say the spell. On one hand she was glad, because this meant that they could not improve the product and use it for other purposes, but on the other hand, how were they supposed to find an antidote if they didn't know what they used in the product?

"_I thought maybe it was left at the house, but can't be, right?" _Clearing her throat, she tried to shut his chatter out. Whether the list was lost or not, that was not her priority right now. All that mattered was that she would get this charm to work, since they would be tested at this at the end of the semester.

"Herbivicus," Hermione spoke, loud and clear, keeping the tip of her wand pointed at the covered seed. A crackling ball of emerald-green light illuminated the tip, and the same light came from underneath the dirt.

The growth began without warning, and all of a sudden a long thin stem came sprouting out, followed by a mix of colours that formed into a big bouquet. Mesmerized, she watched as the growing came to an end, and the petals were gently swaying with the breeze of the wind that came from outside through the open door of the greenhouse.

"… _book, tonight, I'm sure I misplaced it." _She missed most of what he said as she had been appreciating nature, but wasn't too bothered with it. She'd definitely confront him about it later.

"How did you do that?" Ron asked, staring at her flower in awe, and then back at his own, which didn't sprout further than an inch above the surface, and at that his expression dropped. "You have to flick it," Hermione said.

Ron prodded a finger at the flower, and then shrugged as he looked back up at her. "Doesn't do anything."

Hermione honestly had to take a moment to process this amount of stupidity. "Merlin, Ronald, don't act more stupid than you actually are." With an exasperated sigh she scooted closer to him, holding her own wand in front of her as she demonstrated the flick.

"You're supposed to," _"D'you think Snape would notice it was us if," _"be gentle in the wrist," _"we drop a basillicum leaf in Bletchley's cauldron?" _"Oh, shut up." Hermione said without thinking. It was truly very distracting when you tried to explain something and someone else was continuously talking.

"What? I didn't say anything." Ron said, his eyes having widened in surprise. "Not you." Hermione grumbled, and noticed the exchange between Harry and Ron where they both looked confused on the matter, probably trying to decide whether she had officially lost her mind or not.

Though it was an awkward outburst, it did help her to get Fred to shut up, and she took this moment to finish her demonstration that she was now giving to both Harry and Ron – since Harry had apparently been struggling as well – and watched with pride as they both sort of succeeded. The flower didn't look great, but it was at least blooming, which was a start.

Not long after the bell rang and the boys excitedly shut their textbooks. "Finally, I'm starving." Harry laughed, shaking his head as he pocketed his book into his bag. "Mate, you just had breakfast this morning."

"Exactly my point. It's been way too long." Hermione cracked a smile, shaking her head in disbelief. That boy could eat all day and still complain he was going to die of hunger. She honestly did not know how he could do it.

Cleaning up the table by herself, she joined the boys who were waiting outside of the classroom, and walked with them to the Great Hall, taking a seat at their usual place at the far end of the table. Over the years their little group of friends have made it a habit to seat themselves there. It's just a lot easier, like this you always know where to find each other.

Hermione looked at the food in front of her, and smiled in delight as she saw grilled sweet potatoes, and eagerly grabbed a couple, taking a few scoops of the green onion salad that were served alongside it, and treasured every bite she took.

Hogwarts would sometimes go out of its way to add something special to the standard lunch menu, and she was always thrilled to mix it up when she had the chance. Eating the same thing every day could get boring after a while, after all.

A sudden warm weight pressed next to her, and she turned her head to the side as she swallowed her bite, watching the twins seating themselves on her left. Odd. They never sit this close to her.

Shrugging it off, she focused back on her lunch, but was soon interrupted again as the warmth pressed even closer to her, a heavy weight resting against her shoulder and a warm breath tickling her face as Fred leaned across her, grabbing some sweet potatoes that were placed on her right, and using that as his excuse to talk under his breath.

"This thing is driving me nuts." He said, making sure his mouth was turned away from George so he couldn't see him talking. Hermione shot a quick glance over Fred's back to check up on his twin, and saw with some satisfaction that he was occupied in a conversation with Lee Jordan.

Yet, better to be safe than sorry, she chose to drop her head down a bit as she replied. "I know, I can't concentrate on any of my classes."

"Meet me tonight in the common room, see if we can do anything about it." Hermione gave a curt nod as he leaned a bit back, holding her gaze for a second, allowing her to look for the first time at his face in such close proximity. Sure, she had seen his face for years, and it wasn't the first time he had been this close to her, but she never actually took a moment to acknowledge the fact that his eyes were actually a much darker colour compared to Ron's.

Breaking the gaze, her side suddenly felt cold as he broke out of her personal space, focusing back on his twin as he joined their conversation.

Feeling incredibly weird with the entire situation, she let her eyes glide over the students, and stopped for a while longer on Ginny, who was staring at her with such a curiosity, that made her question whether she had been watching her little exchange with Fred.

Well, whether she did or not, she didn't press anything as she just grinned, "You want to hear a fun story?" Glad for a change of subject, Hermione nodded, and absent-mindedly finished her lunch as Ginny talked about what happened in her Charms class, and how someone had managed to turn a simple spell into something very embarrassing as he had managed to pull his own pants down with the spell.

Though Hermione didn't actually find it funny, she still gave a laugh, hoping this would ease Ginny's suspicion and avoid her asking any questions about Fred and her.

Maybe she was being a little paranoid, but she'd hate for others to find out. She couldn't even deal with the weirdness herself, let alone if their friends knew and would tease them all day about it.

The bell rang once more, and she heard the boys heave a sigh as they slowly hoisted themselves off their seats, and joined her for the last two classes of the day: Charms and History of Magic, ones she was actually for the first time in ever not looking forward to. Because she knew that if there was one thing she would not be doing, it would be to learn something. At least, not as long as Fred wouldn't be able to keep his mouth closed for more than at least fifteen minutes. Which she didn't see happening anytime soon.

-x-

Hermione joined the boys as they walked to the Gryffindor tower, and they both shot her an identically confused look. "Aren't you off to the library?" Hermione shook her head, taking a short detour around some splattered school supplies laying on the floor, a red-headed First Year eagerly trying to scrape it all off.

"I've got most of my things finished already, just going to do some light reading." Ron snickered, hoisting his bag on his shoulder again after it had slipped off, giving a small grunt at the heavy weight of his books. "Sure, probably as light as the book you made us read in First Year."

Hermione smiled, remembering that day in the library when she had plopped the, in her opinion, light book on the table and the boys simply couldn't believe that this is what she does in her spare time.

Harry said the password to the Fat Lady, and she followed inside, parting ways with them as they headed straight for the couches, retrieving the Wizarding Chessboard from the table next to them.

True to her word, she took a seat in a secluded area in one of the corners, and got her History of Magic book out. She had barely been able to read a word throughout this class today, due to Fred and George apparently having a free period, but by the silence in her head she assumed that they had their last class of the day right this hour, so she was determined to spend it wisely.

In fact, she was so immersed in the book, finally able to catch up with what they had discussed in class, and also having been able to prepare for the upcoming two classes, that she hadn't even noticed the twins had come into the common room until they had lit a small explosive firework, making her jump in her seat and immediately grabbing for her wand.

Upon spotting the source of chaos, she let out a shaky breath and put her wand back into her pocket, cursing the twins under her breath. With that Fred's head immediately whipped to her, and with a grin on his face he excused himself from his brother, "_Be right back, Gred"._

Weaving himself through the crowd that had surrounded them to admire their firework, she couldn't help but scrunch up her nose as she was still convinced that the long hair all of the boys – including Harry – were growing out was truly not their look. Sure, it added a quirky playfulness to their already outstanding cheekiness, but maybe that's what unsettled her so much. It made her even more wary of what they could constantly have up their sleeves.

In the back she could see George staring after Fred with a pleasantly confused expression on his face, but then soon enough shrugged it off as he focused back on the crowd, using his hands to demonstrate something that looked like other products they were working on.

"I heard you lost the list of ingredients." Hermione said as soon as he was in earshot, folding her arms on top of each other, her History of Magic books laying forgotten on her lap.

Fred let out a bulbous laugh, plopping himself right next to her on the empty seat next to the bookshelf, his legs automatically propping themselves on the little table in front, one arm slagged over the chair as his upper body turned to her.

"I see you're getting just as tired of this as I am." He observed, and Hermione wasn't quite sure whether to give him a scolding or to look for another solution. "It's quite embarrassing too," he went on, "I've been saying some weird things all day as I kept repeating what you said instead of what I wanted to say,"

At this Hermione cracked a grin, unable to keep a hearty laugh from escaping her mouth. "Right, _'I am as a matter of fact convinced that studying isn't a crime.'_" she quoted, and chuckled again, making Fred laugh as well. "I solemnly swear that I meant to say 'pranking', and definitely not 'studying.'"

Hermione grinned, exaggerating her nodding as she raised her eyebrows. "Sure you did." She joked, "It's okay, I can keep a secret. And I would for sure agree with you whole heartedly."

This time it was Fred's turn to grin, "Are my ears deceiving me? Is Hermione Granger, the most Serious-and-Also-Most-Brightest-Witch-of-Our-Age, cracking a joke?" Hermione rolled her eyes as he placed his other hand that wasn't dangling over the edge of his chair on top of his heart, a touched expression softening his face as he teased her.

"Only once a month." At this Fred dropped his hand again and chuckled. "So, what do we do about this situation?"

At this Hermione turned serious again, and placed her book back in her bag. "Oh, no, _we _are not doing anything. I told you two days ago, that _you _are the one who is going to fix this. _You _and your lovely twin brother, are after all, the cause of this entire mess."

Fred pouted, in the hopes that would soften her. Oh, how little time he had spent with her to know that such things _never _work. "But Hermione, you're the one with the smartest brains! Surely you'll have it fixed faster than I can even do my homework."

Though she knew it was just a trick to get her to help him, she also knew that he genuinely meant this compliment, and so she felt her cheeks warming up, having to clear her throat before she spoke. "I admit that that's probably true, but still, Fred, if you're anything like Ron, I know I'll be the only one left doing the work if I agree to helping you now."

Fred's lips quirked up in a smile, shaking his head as his glance shifted from her to Ron, who was enthusiastically slamming his fist on the couch in a victorious move as one of his pieces knocked Harry's out. Yes, they were still playing chess. "Has my little brother done you this wrong for you to question his most devoted family?"

"Oh no, not all his family." Hermione smiled sweetly, "Ginny I would definitely trust." Fred mocked his hurt as he looked back at her. "Hermione Granger, do you have any idea how much you are hurting my feelings?"

Hermione gave him a gentle slap on the arm, to which he broadened his act even more. "Here I was, thinking that hearing each other's voices all day, kissing our ears with a soft breeze had created a strong connection. But I, for the first time in my life, have been mistaken. It has seemed that-"

"Okay, okay, enough. This is exactly why I can't focus on my education." Hermione chided, making Fred grin in victory. "Did you know that you and your brother do this way too much?"

"See, this is why you should definitely help me. With your help we can get rid of this in no time." Then on second thought added, "I promise I will help." And added his little finger out to support his statement.

Hermione rolled her eyes once more, having a feeling she'll be doing that a lot more if further conversation between them will pursue in the near future. "All right, I'll help, but I swear to Merlin, if you're not going to be of any help-"

"I know, I know, I'll get a vigorous scolding every day for the rest of my life, having to write scrolls and scrolls of parchment as to why I was wrong for testing on you." Fred finished for her, and she nodded in satisfaction.

Roaming a hand through her hair, she nibbled on her bottom lip as she tried to think of something. "The quickest way to reverse it is to know what went wrong. We really need that list." Fred nodded, looking serious for just a second, before a smile easily found its way back to his lips. "I'll search until my hands and knees are bleeding, I promise."

Choosing to not comment on that, she went on. "In the meantime, perhaps it's possible to train the brain to tune each other out. You know, like selective hearing. I mean, of course, I'm not sure how well this works when it's actually in your brain, but it's the best thing we've got right now."

Fred nodded, willingly taking it into consideration. "All right, but we'll have to do that when we're apart." Hermione agreed to that with one single nod, and then let her eyes roam around the room. She could see Ron leaning over to Harry, his mouth moving but not actually articulating any letters properly, and then saw Harry turn to look over his shoulder at them.

Averting her eyes, she checked the other side of the room as she saw George occasionally glancing back and forth between Alicia and Angelina and her and Fred. Feeling very stared at, she looked back at Fred, only to see that he had been following her gaze.

"Are we going to tell anyone?" Fred asked at last, asking the question that was on her mind.

Hermione remained silent, taking a moment to relish in the fact that there wasn't the constant voice of Fred talking in her ear, but also taking a moment to think hard about this. "Personally, I think it's better if we don't. I mean, after all, it's not like they can help us figure it out, and we both know that everyone will tease Merlin's pants out of us."

"Besides," she went on, "I haven't even processed this for myself yet. Let alone if we have to explain it to someone else."

Fred nodded in agreement, "and hey, who knows, perhaps we'll have fixed it before they even realize something's going on." He added, and she nodded with a renewed sense of determination. "Yes, if we can, then no one will ever have to know it happened."

"But, I'm warning you, though, I can't make promises about my dearest twin brother. We don't need a malfunctioning product to already connect our brains." Fred stated, leaving Hermione a little bit anxious. She knew that it would indeed be very difficult to keep this from George especially. "Just promise you're at least not the one to tell him."

Fred grinned, "It's like you're a First Year student and I'm a Sixth Year student and we're trying to hide our relationship." Hermione tried to give him a glare for making a joke out of this, but she couldn't even get her eyes to squint before she had to laugh, knowing how ridiculously serious they were taking this, as if they would end up dead if their little secret were to be revealed.

"Exactly, this secret is top priority, better treat it like that." Fred laughed, and then clapped her shoulder, swinging his legs back off the table. "You should joke more often, Hermione. You'll be even more likeable if you do."

Hermione gave him a genuine smile, then lowered her gaze as she could once more feel her cheeks light up. She silently cursed herself, but then just blamed Ron and Harry for never really complimenting her like this, and thus being easily embarrassed and touched when someone else did it.

"Well, was lovely to hear your voice again, sure did miss it after hearing it all day already, but I've got to excuse myself before my charming, but not as equally handsome, twin brother is starting to wonder if I am secretly asking you to tutor me for my classes behind his back."

Hermione chuckled and waved him goodbye, grabbing her bag and getting up herself to walk to the stairs leading to the girls' dormitory, ignoring the burning stares of her best friends following her retreating back. Completely forgetting that she should be mad at Fred for doing this to them, instead of having joked around with him.


	3. The dangers of improper education

**Whispers in the dark**

**Chapter 3: The dangers of improper education**

_**A/N:**__ I own nothing except my mistakes._

"_Hermione, why is it that wizards avoided Augurey nests?" _Hermione added the Armadillo Bile to her potion, debating whether she should ignore him or not. So far it's been three days since their last conversation, and their little plan to try some brain exercises to tune each other out had not been working out. Neither had he managed to find his list of ingredients yet.

The class was talkative enough for her to go unnoticed – or well, as talkative as you could get in Snape's class – but she was mainly hesitant, because so far they had been staying a bit on the low. She had heard Fred talk to George for a few times about our little conversation and what it was about, and even Harry and Ron had questioned her.

It was only now that she realized that it indeed felt like they were different Years students that were trying to hide their relationship. Scoffing at the ridiculousness of it, she decided to answer him. "It says in your textbook."

"What did you say?" Harry looked up at her, utterly confused as she had spoken out of nowhere, having forgotten to lower her voice. Hermione forced a smile, pointing at a page in his textbook, having noticed he looked quite pained trying to figure the instructions out earlier. "See? You have to wait until the Ginger is lime green."

Harry smiled, "Oh, thanks, I thought it had to turn blue."

Hermione dropped her smile as soon as he went back to his work, and kept stirring her potion until hers did turn blue, and then added the Ground Scarab Beetles. _"Yes, I know, they say it was once believed to foretell death, but were they truly that superstitious?"_

Grasping for the box with Armadillo Bile, she was left grabbing at the air as it had been moved from the place by Harry, causing her a light aggravation. What happened to grabbing your own ingredients from the shelf?

Leaning over her cauldron – and tightly pressing her robe into her chest to keep it from burning – she grabbed the box from his side, and he shot her an apologetic grin, which she could not manage to smile back to.

"Read your textbook, it's fairly self-explanatory, really." Hermione muttered under her breath, not sure if he could her, but at least pleased that Harry for sure couldn't. _"What do you think I'm doing? It tells me all about how useless their feathers are as quills because they repel ink, and it also bothered to notify me that it eats large insects and fairies. Fairies, Hermione! Surely that's a crime somewhere."_

Groaning, she cursed under her breath as her potion had almost turned dark green, a colour that it should definitely not turn into. "I'm seriously taking into consideration whether this Wit-Sharpening Potion is going to help you think on your own if you take it." She grumbled, a little too loud as Ron now snapped his head to her.

"What?" Hermione looked up at him wide-eyed, then tried as innocently as she could, "What?" Then realized that repeating his words wasn't exactly the most clever response. Perhaps she could use that potion, maybe that would get her head straight again.

"Who were you talking to?" He asked with confidence, daring her to lie and tell him that she wasn't talking to anybody. Well, since they thought she had gone crazy days ago already, she figured the following words couldn't hurt. "To myself."

With that she could hear a laugh from Fred, and she figured he must have made sense of the conversation. _"Oh, the things we say for secrecy, right, my beloved Hermione?"_

Hermione sneered, then forgot Ron was still looking at her, and who in turn looked mortified at her fast paced change of expressions. "Seriously, 'Mione, what's going on with you lately? I mean, no offence, but we've only started school a week ago and it looks like it you've already lost your mind."

As annoyed as she got with that comment, she couldn't blame him. She wouldn't want to see herself right now.

"If you will, talking to yourself has proved by many Muggle studies that it is a sign of intelligence." With that Fred's laugh echoed in her head, giving her a chill down her arms. It was a pleasant sound, but also very intrusive and wrongly timed.

"Probably because Muggles try to excuse their own madness." Ron laughed at his own joke, and then fell silent at her glare. With that he quickly turned back to his own cauldron, and forgot all about what they were talking about.

Tapping her wand to the cauldron, she dimmed the fire down a bit, so her potion could simmer until the last ten minutes of class. Using this time, she grabbed the remainder of the ingredients, and walked to the cupboard, slowly placing them back to where they belong, using that time to answer Fred.

"They feared the heart-rending sound, and many wizards have sworn to have suffered a heart attack from the bird's wail, though none have actually ever seen one. That's why they avoided them. And yes, it was mere superstition, because the Augurey merely sings at the approach of rain." Hermione explained in a low voice, since she was quite close to Snape's desk, giving into helping him. After all, if she had a chance to educate someone, especially if that person was willing, she was more than happy to share her knowledge.

"_Thanks! You just saved a life." _Hermione put her last ingredient on the shelf. "I very much doubt it." Was the last thing she said, though couldn't help but smile.

Getting back to her cauldron, she finished sneakily helping Harry and Ron as they were both in distress, and then handed her potion in when the ten minutes passed by.

"I wonder what Professor Moody is like." Harry said as they walked through the corridor. "And for how long he'll stay." Ron snickered, though Hermione didn't think it to be very funny.

They've had such a variety of different teachers, and all whom left for different reasons, that she was a little anxious to see what Moody had in store for them this year. And if they'd actually learn something.

It didn't look very promising as they entered the classroom. Though the furniture had not changed and everything was still located as per usual, there was this mixture between excitement from the students, and the eeriness from the Professor as soon as he came shovelling in.

One limp leg dragged with him as he made his way to the front of the class, aggressively writing down his name on the chalkboard and leaving no room for questions whatsoever. It got even worse when he began about the Dark Arts, and Hermione was left staring dumbly at the teacher for initiating to teach the students about this.

The dangers about the Dark Arts she could understand, yes, but in these times of war, too much knowledge on such a dangerous subject often enough turned into a disaster quick enough. "How many Unforgivable Curses are there?"

Without raising a hand, and also noting that everyone's throat seems tight shut, she answered the teacher's question, as per usual. "Three, sir."

Professor Moody went on with such a twisted enthusiasm that he even began showing the Unforgivable Curses in the classroom, leaving Hermione frozen and with her mouth left agape as she couldn't believe how people were actually even enjoying this as well.

This was downright horrible, and by no means the way education should be like. "Longbottom, give me another Curse." Neville stood up, and Hermione noticed the shake in his leg, a light stutter in his words as he spoke, "The Cruciatus Curse, sir."

Again, with the same enthusiasm Professor Moody demonstrated it on the poor creature, who writhed and squirmed in pain. Though she couldn't bear to look, she knew she had to intervene as she saw Neville's ghostly pale face. "Stop it! Can't you see it's bothering him?" Hermione screamed out, and to her relieve the Professor dropped the curse.

"_Hermione, are you okay?" _Fred sounded genuinely concerned, but she couldn't answer. Not right now. And not because anyone would hear – she really couldn't care less at the moment – but because she could no longer form a single word as the teacher went on.

"Perhaps you could give us the last Unforgivable Curse, Miss Granger." Hermione squeezed her lips shut, her eyes blurry as she refused to look at the man, shaking her head.

"Avada Kedavara!" Hermione let out a whimper that would be inaudible to anyone else, but not to Fred. No, he was not even nowhere near her, but right now, in this extremely vulnerable moment, it was so good to know that he was right with her. "_Hermione?!" _Now he actually sounded worried.

She heard Moody say something about Harry and the only survivor of the curse, but she was zoning out. There the spider was, on her books, having been played with, tortured, and now killed. And all for the education purposes of what? That these curses exist and are used on many people in this war? It's nothing no one knew already.

After this ordeal he told them to read up on it in their books, but Hermione could not touch it. Could not even bear to pack it in her bags as the bell rang, and thus was forever grateful for Neville landing her a hand, though it made her feel worse. It must not have been easy to watch the same Curse that has been used on his parents, and so she gave him a gentle squeeze in his shoulder and a genuine smile as she said her goodbye.

Silently she walked alongside Harry and Ron, who in contrast to her were blatantly chatting about what just happened, and so instead she moved up her pace and walked off without them, wanting to forget about this class as soon as possible.

Taking a seat in the Great Hall at the Gryffindor table, she served herself some vegetable soup, but mainly scooted her food around. "What happened?" Again, the sudden warmth filled her side as Fred squeezed himself in, this time diverting from his twin as George had seated himself on the opposite of the table next to Ginny and Seamus.

Hermione stared at her food for a while longer, then slowly lifted her head up to the side, greeted with a warm smile staring back at her. "You sounded upset." He stated, and she made a mental note to remind herself once in a while that Fred wasn't the person to show intense concern. Though, the fact that he even bothered to ask already made her feel much better.

Debating on whether she should rant about this, her decision was quickly made when he remained silent and just kept her gaze, his hair falling just right near his eye, but not yet covering it, waiting for her to speak.

Letting out a breath, she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as she turned her whole body to her right, so she was now properly facing him. "Have you had your first Defence Against the Dark Arts class yet?" It seemed like a reasonable thing to start with. If he already did, then she'd have to explain less.

But he shook his head. "No, I'll have mine tomorrow, why?"

Hermione glanced over her shoulder at the teacher's table, where Professor Moody was chewing on a chicken leg. "I can't possibly understand how Professor Dumbledore allowed this type of teaching. The man performed Unforgivable Curses in the classroom!"

Taking a deep breath, she rambled on. "I mean, of course, I understand, dark times are growing darker with every single day, and it's important to understand the threat, but surely Dumbledore also knows that such intense information could go horribly wrong if it falls in the wrong hands. And we all know that there are students in this school that could go down the wrong path real fast if handed with the wrong information."

Fred just nodded, his eyebrows furrowing together ever so slightly as he processed her rapid spoken words. "And not only that, but he makes a show of it! Twirls around the spider as it's commanded what to do, tortures it in front of a boy whose lost his parents to it, killed it just to prove the point that these curses are powerful."

Her throat felt tight from speaking about it, but at least her heartbeat was slowing down as she was able to let it off her chest.

Looking back up at Fred, he was smiling broadly at her, which got her utterly confused. What was so funny? "Feeling better?" Well, in fact, now that he was asking. "Yes, much better, actually."

Fred then lightened up completely again, and a mischievous grin formed on his face. "Want me to set off a Stinking Bomb in his class tomorrow?" Hermione cracked a smile, but shook her head. "No, there are many things I'd like to do to him, but that wasn't one of them."

He laughed, which made a few heads turn, and got her remembering that Fred and her usually don't talk and this must look very weird. "Did you find it yet?" Hermione asked, turning her body a bit to the front again, and now finally feeling the appetite to eat her dinner, though she had to use a warming spell to heat up the soup that had cooled down.

"No, bloody thing is hiding itself good." Hermione played around with a piece of broccoli as she tried to think. "Not somewhere between books?"

"No."

"Supplies?"

"No."

"Clothes?"

"No- wait, it might be, I'd have to check later." Fred wondered, picking a small piece of chicken off Ginny's plate, who in turn tried to stab his hand with her fork, but he was too quick for her to reach him, a wicked grin resting on his lips. "Too slow, sister."

"I have to grow from that, you know." She insisted, but Fred played it off, "Yes, me too."

Ginny rolled her eyes, then returned to her conversation with Seamus, though not before lingering her gaze on Fred and her, holding Hermione's stare for a bit longer as she raised a single eyebrow.

Hermione, on the other hand chose to ignore her friend, and instead chose to enjoy her dinner, hoping she could postpone the confrontation with her friends for as long as possible.


	4. Some see a weed, some see a wish

**Whispers in the dark**

**Chapter 4: Some see a weed, some see a wish**

_**A/N:**_ _I own nothing except my mistakes._

"_Where are you?" _Hermione was slowly getting used to hearing his voice, as it had been over a week, though it still felt weirdly intimate. "The library." She had to whisper it, since Madam Prince was standing just a row away. _"Of course you are, I should have known._" She smiled at that.

Just a few minutes after that he came swaggering in, his hair bouncing on his shoulders as he walked. His head whipped both left and right, until eventually he managed to spot her, and she waved a hand to get him here.

With a grin he approached her table, retreating the chair from the table with a scraping sound that made Hermione wince in her seat, and Madam Prince give him a harsh hushing. Fred bowed to her in half-hearted apology, and then sprawled himself on the chair.

"You do not want to know where exactly I found it, but it was indeed hidden in my clothes." Fred said as he took a piece of parchment out of his pocket, letting it thud down on the table as he dropped it.

Hermione scrunched her nose, indeed not wanting to know, and carefully picked it up, making Fred chuckle. "Although I'll soothe your worries and say that it wasn't in my underwear." This made Hermione relax, and now grabbed it with both hands, eagerly scanning the ingredients.

_African Sea Salt_

_Beetle Eye_

_Essence of comfrey_

_Horned toad_

_Neutraliser_

_Human hair_

_Honeywater_

_Dandelion roots_

So far the list of ingredients didn't look that harmful to her. Most were commonly used ingredients for potions, although the human hair did unsettle her a little, not having the greatest memory of a previous potion she had tried in her Second Year that included the human hair.

Yet, it never checked to hurt, and so she got up from the chair, expertly scanning the rows of books, and ended up with a couple to bring back from the Potions and Herbal section.

"All right, let's see," Hermione muttered, more to herself than to Fred. Opening the first book of Potions, she easily scanned the pages from one to four-hundred-fifteen, but found none that even resembled a similar combination of these ingredients.

So, with a frustrated sigh she put the book aside. "Wait, you didn't even look at everything," Fred said, reaching out for the book, but letting his hand drop when she mumbled a, "Yes, I did."

He gave a sigh and leaned back in his chair, propping his hands behind his head. This made Hermione look up at him, cocking a single eyebrow up at him, but he just stared right back at her. "Hey, don't look at me like that. It's not like I can do anything."

Clicking her tongue, she pointed at a Herbal book. "Why don't you look up all the ingredients you used and their purposes?" Then handed him her quill and ink.

"I already know what they do." Fred said, looking a little bored, making Hermione glare at him. "Well, clearly you don't, because otherwise we wouldn't be here." She reminded him, making Fred groan as he reluctantly reached for the book.

As he was busy with the work she gave him, she used that time to look at another Potions book she had retrieved from the bottom of a shelf, one that made her hit her head on the corner of the table as she tried to get back up, and skimmed through the pages until she found the one that listed all the dangerous combinations of mixed ingredients.

"You didn't use Mint, did you?" Fred mumbled a 'no', and Hermione nodded in satisfaction. "Good, because combined with Honeywater it could potentially give us temporary memory loss for a week."

A quirky smile tugged on Fred's lips, and she could hear him saying under his breath: "That'd be worse than death for you, wouldn't it?"

Hermione ignored it, although she didn't disagree with him on that, and kept searching until they both got to a point of serious frustration.

"D'you even think we're gonna find the source?" Fred whined, about to shred the parchment of ingredients they had used and their purposes, but Hermione grabbed it from him just in time. "The solution is always at the root of the problem."

Chewing on her lip, she stared off at the ground, willing herself to think harder. "I'd be impressed by those words, if we hadn't been spending two hours already on finding that solution." Fred said.

"We must be missing something." Hermione spoke, her voice light and soft as she was thinking aloud. "Like what? We've looked into all the ingredients and the dangerous combinations. I don't really think we're missing out on anything."

Hermione shook her head, fixating her gaze back on the mess that they had created on their table. Five books sprawled out, scrolls of parchment with messy writing scattered everywhere with all kinds of possible solutions or problems. But none that really made sense.

"These ingredients, were these all that you used?" Fred was growing rather impatient, and a hint of annoyance was beginning to lace his voice. "For the hundredth time, yes, these were all we used."

Hermione furrowed her eyebrows together, then shook her head frantically, "No, no, I'm not just talking about _these _ingredients. I mean, besides what you put into the potion, is there anything else you did with it at all?"

"Like, left it in cold water for a few hours, reheated it a week later to give it some finishing touches," Hermione rambled on, "or used a spell to magnify its effects?"

At the last part Fred's face lit up, and he nodded, the hint of annoyance washing away. "Yes, a spell, we did use that. We used the Aparecium charm. It was necessary to give the Potion a defining purpose. Without it it wouldn't do what we wanted."

She looked genuinely confused at this. "But that shouldn't be the root of the problem. It possibly can't be." At this Fred let out an exasperated groan. "Then _what _is, Granger?"

Burying her hands in her hair, she gave her scalp a rub to ease the upcoming headache. Though she loved to solve mysteries, she didn't like it as much when she was personally intertwined in it. "Wait, how did you know it didn't do what you wanted it to do?"

Fred toppled his chair lightly back, so it was leaning on two legs. "We tested it, of course."

Now Hermione was even more confused.

"Then how come you and George aren't having the same problem as we are having?" Fred frowned, his gaze fading as he tried to think back. "Because we didn't put in all the ingredients on this list at once."

He grabbed the list, scanned it, then jutted a finger at the last ingredient. "We had spent hours on trying to find the last ingredient to support this charm, then overheard Mum talking to Dad about saving some, because it was always nifty when needing to make a Girding Potion for endurance in case Dad had to overwork so much again."

Fred rambled on, and she could practically see his brain connecting all the dots. "We figured if it helped with endurance, it might be strong enough to support our Potion and connect it with the Charm, and we wanted to try it out, but by the time we had finished adding the colour neutraliser and the potion had cooled down enough to be able to consume it, Mum had already called out for dinner, and we'd figure it wouldn't hurt to test it on another first." He sheepishly finished.

A serious conflict was emerging in Hermione right now. She was about to well up with anger to their ignorance, but was also exhilarated to finally have figured it out.

"Fred Weasley," She began, her voice threateningly low and her eyes squinted in such a hard glare that she was glad to see he positioned his chair back on four legs for stability. "If I ever find you and your brother experimenting on others again, I swear to Merlin..." but she didn't want to finish that, and instead grabbed the list of dangerous mixes of ingredients.

She could hear a tiny breath of relief coming from Fred as she was now emerged in the books, and thus distracted from her anger, and at last let out a tiny squeal when she found a match. "Of course!" She exclaimed, pushing the book and the ingredients list under his nose. "Dandelion roots and neutralisers never work together when used for endurance."

Fred looked confused, so she elaborated. "The endurance potion has to be strong in order to work, which means it naturally creates a powerful odour and a strong colour. Though I understand that you wished to neutralise this, in order to be able to slip it into people's foods and drinks," she took a moment to fix him a hard glare, "Minimizing the strength also causes for a delayed opposite effect, meaning it had time to connect to the charm, but instead of helping it to give a strong, powerful burst for a one time use, like how you intended for the taker to only say what was on their mind once, it has now created a long-time altered effect."

"And not only that," Hermione said, skimming the ingredients again with her eyes, "the human hairs added to this, created a twisted connection between the minds of the two hairs that has been put in – in this case you and I – and thus instead of saying what's on our mind when in the moment, we can now hear each other at all times wherever we are, because our minds are linked to spoken thoughts whatever the location."

Fred looked conflicted, but hopeful nonetheless. "Okay, brilliant, so we have the root of the problem. So, let's make a potion to undo the effects of the previously taken potion."

Hermione sighed, hopelessly searching the pages of all the books. "I came across something an hour ago, though I was hoping it wouldn't come to it."

"You see, it isn't as simple as that. I wish it was, but combining a Potion and a Charm already takes that option away, and let alone when you add neutralisers to it. There's a reason why the Hospital Wing doesn't use it, and it's because it messes with the effects, and thus the origin of the creation." Hermione sighed, then stopped skipping through pages when she found the one she was looking for and handed it to Fred.

"Acromantula venom," he read aloud. "Great, so how do we get it?" He asked, looking up at her, his hopeful face crashing when he caught her defeated expression.

"We don't," she said. "Unless you happen to find a dead acromantula where we can collect the venom from, or if you happen to have a hundred galleons for a pint."


	5. It's a ginger thing

**Whispers in the dark**

**Chapter 5: It's a ginger thing**

_**A/N:**_ _I own nothing except my mistakes._

"Honestly, Ron, I still highly disagree that you're unable to finish two essays in a spawn of three weeks." Hermione said, tucking in her feet underneath her as she repositioned herself on the couch.

The fireplace was burning on a low pit just a few feet away, the Gryffindor common room desperately clinging to that source of light to illuminate it a bit. It had not turned dark enough just yet for the torches to be lit.

In fact, considering it had just been three days since Summer past, it wasn't that necessary yet for a fireplace to burn either, though, truth to be told, that thing burned the entire year through, if not for the warmth, it was for the cosiness it brought.

"Yeah, but 'Mione, they're both required to be three feet long! Madness, that is, I'm tellin' ya." Ron sputtered, shaking his head in thought. Hermione snorted, not very elegantly so, and then shook her own head. "If I managed to take double my schedule last year, with double the homework, then surely, Ronald, you can manage two essays of three feet each."

Ron clicked his tongue, cocking his head to the side. "Now that's not fair, is it? You had a ti-" Hermione hushed him quickly before he could finish what he was saying, giving him a pointed look as she then motioned with her eyes to the people around them.

He cleared his throat, composing himself. "-you had a bit of extra help." He opted for saying instead, but Hermione just shrugged her shoulders. "A bit of help, yes. But mainly a bunch of motivation, determination and great planning. All of which three qualities wouldn't be so bad for you to have sometimes as well."

"Hey! I can be motivated." Ron defended, causing Hermione to chuckle. "Yes, with Quidditch, for sure." Ron grinned, shrugging his shoulders. "You never specified for what I had to be motivated for."

Hermione chuckled, but abruptly fell dead quiet as she heard a whisper. _"D'you think ginger root and chamomile would be a weird combination?"_

She didn't need three guesses to know who Fred was talking to, and she was certainly not happy to hear this. "Hey, Harry, where have you been?" Ron asked, and Hermione absent-mindedly whipped her head to a black raven haired boy approaching them, a wicked grin on his face, on which sweat lines covered in mud were dripping down it.

"Quidditch practice, mate." Taking the boys' distraction, she allowed her eyes to wander the common room, hoping to spot the twins here. "Quidditch isn't having matches, is it? With the Triwizard Tournament coming up and all." Ron asked, and Hermione saw Harry shaking his head from the corner of her eyes. "No, but doesn't mean we can't practice. We want to stay in great shape for the next year. Can't afford to lose our technique now that we're doing so well."

So, if Harry just finished his Quidditch practice, surely that means Fred and George must be near as well.

Ron and Harry both moved themselves a bit further away from her as they reached for the chessboard, which gave Hermione an opportunity to mutter an "Oh, honestly, Fred, don't tell me you are creating new products" under her breath.

"_Blimey, Jordan, nearly whipped my head off with that hand," _Hermione now turned her head completely around, and there they were, stuffed in a corner as Fred ducked from Lee Jordan, who was showing some ridiculous fighting moves. She could also see Fred using this moment to talk to her. _"Just because we had one malfunction, doesn't mean we're quitting our products all together."_

Lee Jordan now moved on to George, whose laughter boomed through the common room, as they emerged in some sort of made-like play fight. _"Anyway, we're trying to improve the product, so it won't happen again."_

A hearty chuckle then washed through her ears as Fred joined in with the commotion, and Hermione felt her agitation soften a bit. Though not all together, as she replied back to him. "I want to see the list of ingredients for that." She demanded.

At this she could see Fred glancing her way just briefly, but then averted his eyes, not saying anything anymore, and before Hermione could get another word out, a heavy weight thumped down next to her on the couch, making Hermione turn back around in surprise as she glanced over at the person sitting down next to her.

"You weren't staring at my lovely brother, were you?" Ginny said, a cunning grin tucking on her lips. Hermione huffed, letting her back sink into the soft pillows of the couch. "Now why would I stare at him? Other than the fact, of course, that they are being obnoxiously loud." She said, trying to sound annoyed.

Ginny chuckled, grabbing a pillow from the floor that had fallen down at some point, and hugged it against her chest as she propped her legs on the couch, leaning her own back into the end of the couch. "I would very much doubt that them being loud would be the reason for you to stare."

The red haired girl had a wicked look in her eyes, one that Hermione wasn't so happy to see. She couldn't have people starting to question Fred and her. "Who were you talking to, anyway?" Ginny said suddenly, as if remembering something just now. Hermione raised her eyebrows in confusion, so Ginny added: "I saw your lips moving."

Now, Hermione knew she could lie and say she was silently scolding the twins under her breath, but both of them knew that Hermione would step up and go over to them if it really was too loud. So that wasn't an option. 

"I was reciting chapter fifteen from History of Magic, we're supposed to be tested in three days, and so far this has been my weakest chapter. It's about the Goblin Rebellions, and mind you, it is very interesting, but at the same so very difficult. We're supposed to know every year by heart, each event and-" Ginny held her hands up in surrender. "All right, all right, boring stuff, I get it."

Hermione had to bite back a victorious smile. Sometimes it did come in handy that she was so obsessed with knowledge. It was easy to talk yourself out of situations when you started a topic no one was interested in.

"Goblin Rebellions, ey? Guess what, there were almost too many to remember, and Merlin knows I remember none, but all I do still know is that the little nuggets still aren't satisfied." Fred said, the voice coming from behind, followed by a shriek from Ginny.

Hermione lazily turned her head to them, and saw Fred ruffle Ginny's hair, the poor girl desperately trying to save it, whilst also slapping his hands away. "C'mon little sister, it looks way better if we style it for you." George grinned, joining in now as well.

"Oh, sod off. We were doing great before you two joined in, thanks." Ginny grumbled, slapping George's hands away as well.

The twins laughed, Fred rounding the couch and George shouting "Incoming!" as he jumped over the back of the couch, Ginny retreating her legs into her chest just in time as he plopped down on the couch, right at the same time as Fred did.

The boys laughed, taking up so much space on this couch that was too small to hold all four, that they were now all pressed together. Earning them a displeased grunt from Ginny. "Couldn't you just have stayed with your friends?"

George placed a hand on his heart in feigned hurt. "It truly pains me to see how little you care for us now that we're back at school, Gin." Fred laughed, joining in as well. "Yes, after having treated you so well, this is how you repay us?"

Hermione saw a fiery look in her eyes, though she could also see a hint of a devilish smile on her lips, meaning she wasn't as pissed off as she was pretending to be. Kicking out a light foot, it made contact with George, who in turn was pushed against Fred, and the latter who was pushed into Hermione.

Now it was her turn to speak up. "Merlin, Ginny, what did I do wrong?" She groaned, rubbing her arm as it burned under her touch from where Fred had accidentally elbowed her. "Sorry, Hermione!" Ginny and Fred said at the same time.

"Wait, did you just apologise, Fred?" Ginny exclaimed in surprise. Even George turned his head to his twin brother, a curious look on his face. Fred just cheekily grinned, shrugging his shoulders. "Believe it or not, sweet sister, some of us actually have manners. Thanks to you I hurt an innocent bystander. It's only right to say sorry, now innit?"

Ginny rolled her eyes so hard Hermione was almost worried that they'd roll out. George joined Fred's grin, and nodded in agreement. "Apparently you still have a lot to learn."

Ginny and George began to bicker, but Hermione got distracted as Fred leaned in once more, this time more gentle as his hand brushed against hers. A scratchy feeling poked on the back of her hand, so she turned her hand around, and felt something soft and small being pushed into her hand.

She didn't need another second to know what it was, for she has touched it many times: a piece of parchment. Raising one eyebrow at him, he simply nodded his head once in the direction of her hand. "Is it-" but he cut her short, nodding his head, then retracted his hand and gave her some space again, focusing back on George and Ginny.

As the three of them now playfully bickered, Hermione took a quick chance at glancing at the parchment, and was pleased to see a list of ingredients greeting her.

Figuring she wanted a better look, she hoisted herself off the couch, with some light protest from Ginny. "You're not just gonna leave me with these two, are you?" Hermione shot her an apologetic smile, "Sorry Gin, just remembered I have an essay to finish."

Ginny sighed, then waved her off, leaving Hermione free to skit up the few steps leading to the girls' dormitory. She easily found her way to her bed, and grabbed her bag from underneath, taking her Potions book out, and a set of used notes that she had taken in the library three weeks ago with Fred, and also a fresh scroll of parchment with some ink and a quill.

With her stock she walked back down the stairs, found a quiet place in the corner, and set her work out.

Now, she really did have a Potions essay to finish, so she started on that first, also using those two hours to stall so the common room could slowly empty a bit. And indeed it did. After two hours of finishing up her essay, the common room was now only left to the twins, Neville, Harry and Ron, and Lavender.

"We're off to bed, 'Mione, don't work yourself too hard!" Harry spoke, and Hermione looked up to see Ron wince as he got up from his chair. They presumably hadn't moved since the last time she spoke to them. "All right, have a good night you two."

They gave her a lazy wave and then disappeared out of sight.

It didn't take long for the others to clear out as well, and Hermione sighed in peace as the common room was now as quiet as it could ever get.

Also, now that everyone was gone, she didn't have to worry about anyone seeing what she was doing, and so she could now sprawl out her research, the list of new ingredients laying in the centre.

Sighing, she bit away the drowsiness that was creeping in. It was nearing twelve at night, and she would have an early start tomorrow, but she also really wanted to first have a good look at this. From now on there would be no more malfunctions, if she could help it.

Though she was tired, it wasn't that hard to put her mind to it and to intensely focus on skimming through the familiar pages of her Potions book. Comparing all ingredients to all certain used Potions.

In fact, she was so emerged in her work, that she let out a soft yelp when suddenly a shadow loomed over the table, and she looked up to see Fred staring silently at her. "Merlin, Fred, you scared me!" Hermione hissed, and Fred gave her a lopsided grin.

"Wasn't my intention," he chuckled, though they both knew that was a lie. "Didn't you go to bed?" She asked, although was already confirmed when she looked him over, his orange plaid pyjamas hanging just right around his body, his hair slightly dishevelled from where he had laid it on the pillow.

"I did." Was all he said, then took the chair opposite her away from the chair so he could sit on it. "So, why are you here?" She pressed, hoping she didn't sound mean. She was just genuinely confused.

He shrugged, letting out a yawn first before speaking. "Didn't feel right to let you fix up our work just by yourself."

Hermione let a smile stretch out on her lips, unable to help but feel touched by this.

"So, what d'you got so far?" He asked, though smiled in return.

Hermione sighed, hopelessly waving her hands over the papers. "Honestly, I don't have much. I fear I'm going to have to come back to this when I'm in the library with more resources."

"I do believe that replacing neutraliser with chamomile is a great idea, and I see where you're coming from with the ginger root, though I'm not sure if these two new ingredients will do the same for you if you combine it with the other ingredients." Hermione spoke softly, as to not wake others.

Fred's face was scrunched up in thought, then sighed as he stared at the rummaged papers. "Well, just let me know if you need help in the library."

Hermione smiled once more, but then shook her head. "That's all right. I should be able to figure it out, but dunno how quickly I have time. I'll do my best to work on it in my free periods, though." Now it was Fred's turn to smile, though his eyes screamed confusion.

"Why are you helping us?" It was a good question, and one she had to take a moment to think about before answering. "I know I can't stop you from creating new products," Hermione smiled, though did give him a pointed look, to which he sheepishly grinned, nodding his head in agreement, "so if I can't stop you, I at least want to make sure you're not bringing the same fate on others as you did on us."

Fred cocked his head to the side, his lips quirking down. "Fair enough." He agreed, then got up, the chair lightly scraping on the floor. "Thanks, anyway, though. I do appreciate it. We could definitely use a fresh pair of brains."

Hermione chuckled, then collected her parchments and Potions book. "I'm sure you do." With that she got up as well. "'Night, Fred." She said, walking to the stairs. "'Night, Hermione." And with that they both left for their beds, a warm smile plastered on her face that refused to leave her lips till the moment she fell asleep.


	6. Don't take life too serious

**Whispers in the dark**

**Chapter 6: Don't take life too serious**

_**A/N:**_ _I own nothing except my mistakes._

"_I don't fancy her." _Hermione looked up from the book she was reading, suddenly curious at the turn of conversation. Before this, Fred and – who she assumed was George – were quarrelling about a prank, so she hadn't expect this kind of a turn. Who were they talking about?

"_Get your head out of the gutter, brother. Just because Granger and I talked once over dinner doesn't mean we're now deeply in love." _Now her interest was really peaked, but she was also highly amused. She knew that people had given them strange looks over dinner a month ago, where she had ranted about their new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher and his terrible means of teaching – which, by the way, had slightly improved once the Headmaster had caught word of the extremity of it, but she didn't expect George to bring it up, or at least not this long after it happened.

Hermione waited for more to be said on the matter, but that seemed to be all, and so she focused herself back on her work.

Shifting on the ground, she felt the grass underneath her fingers send cold down her body, it still being slightly damp from the rain that had started pouring down this morning. Yes, it truly was officially autumn.

Her back began to ache slightly from sitting against the bark, its pointy ends digging into her spine. Yet, she tuned all the pain out, and instead took a deep inhalation of fresh air, quite loving the gentle rays of sun finding her face. If you'd ask her, she'd tell you that autumn is her favourite season.

She never quite fancied the extreme warmth, and absolutely loved the cosiness autumn brought as it forced you inside on rainy days, enjoying a warm cup of tea and a nice warm blanket to treat yourself when normally you wouldn't have an excuse to do so.

"You've been awfully quiet today," a voice said, and she didn't even need to look up to know who was talking to her. Over the course of the past month she had become so familiar with it, that not hearing it was more odd than hearing it constantly through her mind. "Sometimes, my dear Fred, I wish I could say the same to you."

This made Fred laugh, who seated himself down next to her, his back finding just enough space left against the bark to support himself. "Over my dead body."

Hermione smiled, shaking her head as she kept her eyes focused on her book for a second longer, finishing her sentence, and then resting a finger on the sentence after that. "Though, I have to say that I just overheard a very peculiar conversation."

"Hermione Granger, haven't your parents taught you it's rude to eavesdrop?" Fred said, a mischievous grin spreading on his face, showing his teeth, and the wrinkle underneath his eyes. His hair actually looked decent for once, too. It seemed well brushed through, although she still didn't support the long hair look.

"I'm afraid that choice has been taken away from me, now hasn't it?" Hermione couldn't even be mad anymore. By now she had gotten to terms with it, though at any opportunity she got to rub it in his face, she would still gladly do so.

"All right, all right, it's no good crying over spilt potion." Fred said and Hermione huffed, though it was followed by an amused smirk. "That's a nice idiom to use, very fitting indeed."

Fred smirked as well, cockily wiggling his eyebrows. "I sure do have my moments." Hermione lightly elbowed him, shaking her head as she let out a chuckle. "So, what did George have to say?" She tried again, sincerely wanting to know what that conversation was about.

"Well, here's the thing, you and I never really talk. I mean, sure, we've exchanged words throughout the years, but we've never actually held a proper conversation, now have we?" Hermione shook her head to confirm that they indeed had never.

"And now that we did have one, people start to get confused, including my dear twin brother who so bluntly said it looks like we're secretly in love." Hermione's eyes popped wide open, her mouth slightly ajar as she stared at him, and then erupted in laughter.

"That's ridiculous." Hermione said when her laughter died down, shaking her head. I mean, it's not like she didn't like Fred, she did, but only as friends. Though she didn't always agree with his way of living, she sure did have an appreciation for his use of brains. Because by no means were the twins dumb, they just used their knowledge different. And she could admire that, although she'd never tell him that.

"I know, it's what I've been trying to tell George." He said, then let his eyes drift down to her hands. "What are you studying?" He asked, nodding at her book.

She held up the book, letting him see the cover. "Arithmancy." At that Fred raised his eyebrows in ridicule. "Why in the name of Merlin would you ever take that class?"

"It is truly fascinating, studying the magical properties of numbers, including predicting the future in a way that's actual a mathematical way, and thus a correct way to predict what's going to happen. I mean, if you'd take this class, you'd see how much there is actually hidden in the more complex number charts." Hermione unconsciously smiled at the thought of it. Arithmancy was definitely her favourite subject at Hogwarts.

Turning her head back to Fred – as her gaze had wandered off when she had been talking – she saw a fascinated glimmer in his eyes, his lips quirked up in a genuine smile as he stared at her. "You should take your joy out of something other than books for once." Was all he said, and he genuinely meant it.

"Like what?" Hermione asked.

"Like life." Hermione shook her head. "With all my respect, but I don't really consider your pranks to be very joyful." Fred turned his body more to her, as if he needed her to understand what he was saying. "But they can be. Y'know, not every prank has to be mean. They can be very harmless and enjoyable as well."

"I have a hard time believing that." Hermione scoffed, but Fred remained determined to make her understand. "Watch this." He said, prodding her arm with his as he pointed to a couple not that far away from them.

Fred grabbed his wand from his pocket - "What are you-" but Hermione was caught short - "Confundus," he said, keeping his wand pointed at the guy who was about to lean in to kiss his girlfriend.

The hands of the boy were carefully placed on either side of the girl's face, but as he leaned in to kiss her, instead of finding her lips, he straight up kissed the tree, going at it for a bit until he realised what he was doing, unwillingly causing Hermione to burst out laughing, who in turn quickly covered her mouth with her hands as the boy looked around in bewilderment.

"See? The simplest things in life are enjoyable." Fred said, tucking his wand away again. "You need to loosen up a bit more, Hermione."

Hermione shook her head, turning her head back to him, observing how he looked pleased with himself to have shown her that not all pranks are horrible. "I'm quite fine with the way things are, actually."

"We'll see about that." He said, then drifted his eyes to the castle, and saw something that made him jump to his feet. Following his gaze, she saw another red haired boy passing the corridor, and she knew he was going to join his twin brother again. "It's not a bad thing to have some fun once in a while."

And with those words he left, half jogging back to the castle to catch up with George, leaving Hermione sitting against the tree, palming a red leaf that had fallen off its branch, feeling strangely satisfied with that little encounter.


	7. Heartbreaker

**Whispers in the dark**

**Chapter 7: Heartbreaker**

_**A/N:**_ _I own nothing except my mistakes._

"Hey, thanks for the help, Hermione." Hermione looked up from her bowl of cereal, and saw George and Fred sliding into the seats in front of her, George glancing between her homework and the parchment with the list of ingredients. The only reason that was on the table was because she was one of the first at breakfast this morning, and hadn't expected someone to join her so soon.

Hermione drifted her eyes to Fred, shooting him an accusing look, who in turn raised his hands in defence. "I haven't said a thing." Hermione rolled her eyes in agitation. "I know that, idiot. Otherwise I would have heard it."

"What's going on?" George asked, looking genuinely confused as he reached for a piece of toast, spreading it with some butter.

"I told you George would be the first one to find out." Fred reminded her, making her sigh in defeat.

"Well," she began, addressing George, who gave her his full attention, "due to the malfunctioning product from you and your dim-witted brother," - "Hey!" Fred exclaimed, but Hermione ignored him - "we can now hear each other everywhere we go."

Fred looked offended at what she had said, but George looked eerily fascinated. "Really?" Hermione nodded. "That explains a lot." George said, in thought. "For how long has this been going on?"

Hermione looked questionably at Fred, "Like.. almost two months, I guess." She said uncertainly, and after Fred gave it a thought, he nodded in confirmation.

"But like, how does it work? D'you hear every breath and whisper?" George asked, and Hermione reluctantly nodded. "Although, only loud breathing, like a sigh, thank goodness." She said. She couldn't even begin to imagine how horrible it'd be to hear every breath he took.

Laughter and some frantic chatter boomed somewhere in the distance, and she could easily recognize the voices to belong to her friends. "George, please, keep this a secret, okay? We don't really fancy everyone knowing."

George chewed on his toast, looking slightly confused. "Why not?" Hermione and Fred shared a look. "We're not quite ready for all the teasing. And besides, we hope to fix it soon." Well, the latter was a bit of a lie, because they knew it wasn't going to possible for a long time, but at least it seemed to convince him, sort of.

"All right, but I'm not gonna deny anything if they ask." Fred was the one to reply to this, shrugging casually. "Works for me." And with that Harry, Ron, and Neville came rounding the corner, entering the Great Hall and joining them for breakfast, Hermione quickly tucking away the piece of parchment with ingredients.

Finishing her bowl of cereal, Dean, Seamus and Ginny soon joined them as well, the Great Hall now officially becoming louder as many more students had filled in. "Beauxbatons is in France, innit?" Ron said, referring to the noticeboard in the common room, which had announced the arrival of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang coming soon.

"I heard they have a lot of hot women there," Seamus said, his eyes twinkling and a wolfish grin on his face, causing Hermione to roll her eyes. "Well, I hope there's a cute guy in Durmstrang." Ginny said.

"Forget it, little sister." The twins said in unison, making Ginny scoff. Hermione shook her head at everyone at the table as the conversation turned into a fight whether the men or women were going to be better looking. She honestly didn't understand the big deal of the arrival of the other students, and definitely couldn't care less about what they looked like.

Luckily for her, the conversation soon took a turn back to normal, as now everyone was complaining about the homework that had doubled up due to the Triwizard Tournament coming up.

Hermione let her eyes lazily glance about, but stopped dead in her gaze when she saw the twins, both propped on their elbows as they looked expectantly at Ron as he brought a spoonful of yoghurt to his mouth.

The twins cheered quietly in success as Hermione watched in shock as Ron's face turned in each colour of the rainbow, and then back to normal, Ron seeming completely unaware, but the rest of the table bursted out laughing. It was only when Harry explained what happened that Ron knew what was going on, and who then proceeded to take another spoon of yoghurt and flicked it at the twins, missing them both and instead landing against Neville's head, to which Ron embarrassingly apologised.

Normally she would have been angry at this, or at the very least annoyed, but today she caught herself smiling ever so slightly, before she composed herself and fixed her expression again. There was something about suddenly spending more time with a prankster that took the rough edges off her seriousness.

And so she found Fred's gaze, who was curiously examining her change of expressions, and half-heartedly shook her head at him in disapproval. He just shook his head back, "Lighten up, Hermione, it's just a harmless joke." Fred said, and George now looking at her as well, a grin on his face.

Hermione sighed in defeat, which earned her a victorious smirk from Fred in return.

"I'm off to the library," Hermione announced to Harry and Ron, both looking up at her in surprise. "Class is starting in half an hour, surely there's nothing left to do before that?" Harry asked her.

Scoffing, she got up, grabbing her bag in the process. "There's always _something _to do, Harry." She said, matter of factly. "Besides, didn't you hear what Professor McGonagall had said in class yesterday? The O.W.L.s are coming up!"

"Those aren't until fifth year!" Ron groaned, presumably not liking the thought of having to study for that. "Exactly, we're already halfway through this year, Ronald, so fifth year is right around the corner." Hermione stated, but then let her face scrunch up in thought.

Slowly letting her eyes drift to the twins, who were now once more engaged in a conversation with Lee Jordan – although she could see Fred's ear instinctively being turned to her – she addressed them. "Speaking of O.W.L.s, what were they like in your experience?"

Fred was the first of the twins to turn her head to her, since he had been the only one to hear her over the noisy chatter in the Great Hall. George, however, noticing his lack of his twin brother's attention in the conversation, instinctively followed Fred's gaze and was now also paying attention to her, albeit without a clue about the conversation.

"Funny you ask, Granger, though not quite sure if you're asking the right people about the O.W.L.s experience." Fred replied, a humorous expression on his face as his eyebrows lightly lifted up.

"We did, after all, only achieve two O.W.L.s each." George piped in, now catching on to what the conversation was about, a sheepish grin on his face.

Hermione's eyes widened ever so slightly, her mouth agape, suddenly remembering the brief conversation last year about how both twins had managed to get a few O.W.L.s. Though she hadn't expect it to be so little. "What? But that must mean you two barely studied!" She exclaimed in disbelief.

Fred flashed her a cheeky grin. "Why would we need to study if we aren't planning to do anything with them, anyway?"

"Though I do appreciate you clearly think we could have scored better, if we did." George beamed playfully.

"Yes, very touching indeed, Granger." Fred joined, a hand placed over his heart as he winked at her.

Ignoring the wink he gave her, she rolled her eyes. "Why would you care what they got, anyway?" Ginny was the one speaking up now, her eyes squinting in suspicion as she joined the conversation, abandoning the one she had with Neville.

Hermione scoffed, trying to seem casual as she shrugged it off. "I don't _care_, Gin. I was simply curious as to what the O.W.L.s were like, then got caught off guard by such a low achievement."

Both Fred and George exclaimed "ouch!" at the same time. "There you go again, Granger, breaking our hearts." Fred spoke up, but she just stuck her tongue out at him, causing him to erupt in laughter. In fact, as soon as she did that, she immediately let her expression fall as she realized what she had done. Usually she was never one to do such things, especially in a playful manner like she did.

"Would you look at that, is Hermione finally loosening up a bit?" George asked with a hearty laugh, a genuine look of satisfaction edging on his face.

In the meantime, the rest of the table was just looking up at the three in utter confusion. Even people from outside their friend group were now shooting them inquisitive looks.

"Okay, where is Hermione and what have you done with her?" Ron said eerily, his brows furrowed together as some crumbles of bread were still clinging onto his robes. "What are you talking about?" Hermione asked.

"You have been acting strange." Harry confirmed, adding a nod to emphasis what he said. Hermione blew out some air in a dry chuckle, "Don't be so ridiculous. Nothing's changed." Hermione said, trying to convince them, though both Harry and Ron raised a challenging eyebrow at her.

Before they could say anything else, though, she now started to move as she called over her shoulder "See you at Herbology!" and then hurried out of the Great Hall. _"Yeah, 'cause that's not suspicious at all, now is it, Hermione?" _A voice boomed in her ear, clear as a day in the quiet Entrance Hall. "Oh, shut it." Hermione said, a vague smile tugging on her lips.

_**Also, **__I created a poll on my profile page with a simple question to perhaps help you all out. Go check that out if you're interested. It will only take three seconds. Anyway, thanks for all the love for this story and I hope you enjoyed! _


	8. The betrayal of a friend

**Whispers in the dark**

**Chapter 8: The betrayal of a friend**

_**A/N:**_ _I own nothing except my mistakes._

It had been three days of constant studying and making homework, and not just for Hermione, but also for all the other Fourth Years, as the teachers had no mercy on them, determined to prepare them for their O.W.L.s for next year. Although, the only difference was that Hermione was able to do her work in silence, whilst Harry, and Ron in special, were constantly complaining about it.

The only thing Hermione would complain about was Fred constantly talking to George about their products, and she often gave him a piece of mind on it as well, though he just disregarded it. Telling her that next year, when she'd actually have to take the O.W.L.s, he'll take into consideration to be a bit more quiet, but for now, he was just going to keep on planning with George.

Although she was bummed about it, she was at least glad to hear that perhaps next year she'd actually have a proper chance at studying. It's not like this year had been too bad, because after almost three months of having this connection with him, she did kind of get used to it by now. Or at least had gotten better at it to tune it out, to treat it as someone just being there in the room with her as she studied, someone who was having a conversation with someone a table away. Sometimes tricking your brain to make it believe it was something else, helped a bunch.

Tonight, though, she could take a bit of a break as the students of Beauxboutons and Durmstrang were expected to arrive.

Everyone who was currently seated in the Great Hall was chattering obnoxiously loud in an anxious excitement. Many speculations went back and forth of how Durmstrang students had never seen actual sunlight, and how Beauxboutons were actually fairies.

Though Hermione was curious, she would also be more than happy to have this all over with. She had more important things to focus on than everything people were currently busying themselves with.

"Attention, please." Dumbledore spoke, taking the centre of the stage at the front, the chatter in the Great Hall immediately dying out to a whisper, and slowly the whisper died out to complete silence.

"As we've all been graced with the arrival of our students outside the castle just now, I would first like a few words to say before I invite them to join us for dinner." His voice was low, barely raised as he could speak with ease in the quiet.

"Hogwarts has been chosen to host the Triwizard Tournament, one that I announced at the very beginning of this year." A murmur of excited whispers went around the Hall, but the headmaster ignored them, continuing his speech.

"For those of you who don't know, the Triwizard Tournament brings together three schools, who all battle in a series of magical contests. Only one student of each school will be selected to join." Hermione could feel a rush of wind as many students were whipping their heads around to turn to a friend, grins and smiles popping on all their faces. Some looked confident to join, others seemed merely excited to watch the other join.

"However, over the course of the Tournament, several rules have been changed. The most important rule of all, to be that no student under the age of seventeen shall be emitted in this Tournament." A loud chatter bursted out at this, many protesting and even some students booing at Dumbledore.

With ease she could also hear Fred screaming "Rubbish!" and when she turned her head to the back, she spotted the twins at the far end of the Gryffindor table, giving Dumbledore a thumbs down.

"Quiet!" He bellowed, and immediately everyone fell quiet again. "These tasks have been proven too difficult and too dangerous for anyone under the Sixth or Seventh Year, and will only be in favour of your safety."

"Now," Dumbledore hurriedly went on, before any more protests could arise, "I would like to introduce our foreign students, who have come from far, and offer them a safe and good place in our home, as we will treat them with respect and kindness."

"Please, do all welcome the lovely ladies of the Beauxboutons Academy of Magic, and their Headmistress Madame Maxime." Dumbledore introduced, and right on cue the two large wooden doors leading as a port between the Entrance Hall and the Great Hall opened wide, and a dozen of well-kempt women came walking in.

Their silky blue robes clinging just right to their bodies, their hair flying behind them as they put on an act, seduction being their key to win the guys' hearts. "Bloody hell," Ron said as they walked past, an awestruck smile on his face as he blandly stared at their behinds.

"Ronald!" Hermione scolded, leaning over the table to give him a glare at his lack of manners. Ron simply shrugged, a wolfish grin still on his face.

Rolling her eyes, she dared a glance back at the twins, and saw both of their heads propped on their hands, staring dreamily at the women who had now taken their seats. "Boys," Hermione huffed, shaking her head.

Fred immediately snapped his head in her direction, a single eyebrow shooting up in a questioning way, but she ignored it, simply focusing her attention back to the front.

"And now," Dumbledore began, this time having to raise his voice so he could speak over the clapping of the students, "our friends from the North, meet the proud sons of Durmstrang, and their Headmaster Igor Karkaroff."

The Great Hall fell silent as all heads whipped back to the double doors, who were still open wide, and a dozen of brown clad men came marching in, their sticks bouncing hard on the stone floor, sparks of fire flying from it.

Followed behind that was the Headmaster, and another man, the only one dressed in a furry robe, strudding along with the most confidence Hermione had ever seen since Malfoy. "Merlin, is that Viktor Krum?" Ron asked in awe, his voice squeaky as he stared after him.

The two Headmasters greeted one another, and then as everyone had sat down and had become a bit calmer, Dumbledore proceeded to give some last information about the Triwizard Tournament, announcing that starting tomorrow morning, everyone above the age of seventeen could now enter their names in the Goblet of Fire, and that the three final contestants would be chosen later that night.

"Absolute rubbish," Fred grumbled, walking just a bit ahead of Hermione and Harry and Ron along with George. "We'll be seventeen in April, we're practically off-age already." George added.

"Technically you'll be off-age when the Triwizard Tournament has already ended." Hermione commented without thinking. Both Fred and George immediately stopped in their tracks, causing Hermione, Harry, and Ron to bump straight into their still bodies, along with several other students behind them, who all muttered some nasty words.

"Bloody hell, what was that for?" Ron asked, a hand coming up to his face to rub his sore nose. "Doesn't matter, anyway, now does it, Georgie?" Fred spoke, an eerie calm to him. "Indeed it doesn't, Freddie."

Hermione squinted her eyes at them, her hands resting on her hips as she stared at them both – having to look up since they were both towering above her – "Don't tell me you two are planning something."

Fred and George turned their heads to each other, a wicked grin now appearing on their faces. "Nothing for you to worry about, Granger." Fred said, a devilish grin on his face as he tapped his twin brother's arm, nodding at him as George nodded back, a silent conversation happening between the two, as they both hurriedly took off, sprinting over the marble stairs.

"Oh, honestly." Hermione grumbled under her breath, lazily walking on as she knew it would be fruitless to try to keep the twins from trying something. However, she did put a bit of a haste in her step as she noticed that Harry and Ron once more shared a look, and wanted to avoid any sort of question.

\- x -

"I told you it wasn't going to work," Hermione spoke into the room, to no one in particular, though both of them knew it was directed at Fred, who was still fighting with George on the floor, a mess of grey hair rolling on the ground.

"_Now's not the time to play the know-it-all, Granger." _Fred huffed under his breath, as both of them slowly got to a halt when the room suddenly became quiet. Turning her head to the other side of the room, she understood why the sudden silence happened, as she saw Viktor Krum strudding to the Goblet of Fire, his gaze fixed on her the entire way as he walked, lingering a while longer before he left once more.

"What was he staring at?" Fred asked, his hair slowly returning to normal as he sullenly plopped down on the seat next to her, George joining her on the other side. "Got a secret admirer, Hermione?" George smirked, the last grey streak of hair now disappearing completely.

Trying to refrain from blushing, she snorted. "Oh, please, as if." George shrugged, a grin on his face as he looked at her. "Sure did look like it, didn't it, Fred?"

"Oh yes, he almost peeled his eyes out looking at you." Fred agreed, a grin now slowly coming back to the surface on his face as well. "Well, I wouldn't be interested, anyway." Hermione said.

"Now, why's that? All the girls in the school are practically drooling over him." George asked. "Because, there are much more important things than boys." She spoke with an air of dignity.

"Is that so? Because I could have sworn you had a bit of a crush on our dear little brother, Granger." Fred teased, though there was a hint of seriousness to it.

Hermione actually laughed at this, earning her a baffled look from the twins as they stared at her as if she had lost her mind. "Ron? No, Merlin, no. He's a great friend, but that's all he is." Hermione hiccoughed in a chuckle as she finally found her breath to speak again, shaking her head in the process to get rid of the thought of Ron and her together.

"Merlin's beard, I sure do hope Ron didn't hear that rejection." George wheezed, and Fred nodded in agreement, an astounded look on his face.

Realizing something just now, Hermione abruptly turned her body to Fred, who jumped a bit back in surprise, clearly unsettled by her quick change in emotions. "How come you always call me Granger near others?"

Fred looked genuinely confused as he stared back at her. "What d'you mean?" He asked.

"Whenever we're alone you call me Hermione, but as soon as someone else is near you call me Granger. Why's that?" Taken aback, he remained silent for a moment, allowing George to pipe in, saying: "Come to think of it, you indeed do. What _is _up with that, indeed?"

Shaking his head, he shrugged. "I s'pose because we never really talked, I was used to calling you by your last name."

Hermione scrunched her eyebrows together. "That doesn't explain why you call me by my first name when we're together, though." Fred casually shrugged, though she could see his cheeks turning the same colour as his hair. "I dunno. Guess it fits better now that I constantly hear your voice."

Knowing she wouldn't get more out of him than that, especially with his twin brother near – who, by the way, was grinning madly when she turned to look at him, a hidden mischievous twinkling in his eyes that told her that Fred wasn't going to hear the end of this – she let it drop.

"All right then. I'll be off to the library." Hermione said, and the twins said in unison, "We know." Leaving Hermione to walk out of the room with a grin on her face.

Had she been told that she would have normal conversations with the twins at the start of her summer vacation, she would have actually fallen down to the ground in laughter, having wondered if the twins had given them a product of theirs to mess with their brains to think like that.

Yet, right now, it almost felt natural to do, although she still did sometimes struggle. It wasn't always easy making a switch between her serious state and their playful banter.

Which is why it was sometimes also a great break whenever she could study in the library, like right now, surrounded by the familiar scent of books, all neatly stacked in rows upon rows of bookshelves.

"_Hermione!" _It was only now that she paid attention to Fred as he called out her name, and she dared a quick glance at the clock on the wall. Five hours had passed since she had said them goodbye as she had left for the library.

It's not like she hadn't heard him talk during those five hours, because Merlin, did they talk, but as always she had just tuned them out, so she could focus on her work. It's not like he was talking to her, anyway.

Except now he apparently had. "What?" She whispered under her breath, as Madam Prince just passed her by. _"You missed the selection."_

Glancing out the window, she saw the darkness slowly settling in, and whispered "Shoot" under her breath, quickly packing up her stuff as she jogged off the many stairs, entering the Great Hall just in time as Dumbledore walked through the door in the back at the teacher's table, disappearing out of sight.

Spotting several red heads, she joined them, though found a sulking Ron hunched in his seat. Trying to spot a raven black haired boy, she failed to find him. "Where's Harry?" Hermione spoke, a bit unsettled by the fact that there was only a low murmur running through the Great Hall. She had expected more enthusiasm.

"Off being a traitor, I guess." Ron grumbled under his breath, not even looking up at her. More confused than ever, she tried to spot the twins, and found them just a few seats behind Ron. Walking over to them, she took a seat next to Fred, as George was busy conversing with Angelina. "What the bloody hell is going on?" Hermione whispered, feeling uneasy in this weird low murmur state that the Great Hall was in.

Fred shrugged his shoulders, a strange look to him. "Harry just got picked by the Goblet of Fire as a contestant." Hermione was taken aback, staring at him and waiting for him to grin, to show that he was joking, but his face remained serious, not a single twitch on his lips. "But that's impossible!" Hermione exclaimed in a hushed voice, when it became clear that Fred was downright serious.

"I know, it should be." He agreed. Hermione sank in her posture, her shoulders slouching as she desperately looked at the now closed door behind the teacher's table. "What's Ron on about, though?"

Fred turned his head to Ron, who looked as grim as Snape on a bad day, then turned his head back to Hermione. "Dunno, guess feeling betrayed that Harry didn't tell him he'd be joining?" But Hermione shook her head. "Can't be. I talked to Harry about it this morning, he insisted he didn't want to join. Didn't want more attention on him than he already gets."

Fred hopelessly shrugged, "I dunno, the entire situation is as odd as it gets." Glancing around the Great Hall, she tried to guess who the other contestants were, but couldn't really find it out herself. "So, who else is joining?"

"Cedric Diggory, from Hufflepuff, Viktor Krum from Durmstrang, and Fleur Delacour from Beauxboutons." Fred answered, his voice lighting up a bit at the thought of those contestants. Hermione nodded, understanding why the Goblet of Fire picked them. They seemed like strong and intellectual contestants.

"I hope Harry's okay," she said, her voice trailing off as Fred had stopped listening. Or at least, she thought he had, since he had turned his body back to George and Angelina. "Don't fret it, 'Mione, he'll be fine, as always."

Though the words did bring her some comfort, she couldn't help but feel sullen herself, as she shot a glance over at Ron, whose gaze was fixed on the ground, his lips biting down on one another. Hermione sighed. This was going to be one hell of a Tournament.


	9. Two knights in shining armour

**Whispers in the dark**

**Chapter 9: Two knights in shining armour**

_**A/N: **__I own nothing except my mistakes._

_**Also, **__I hope you're all doing all right with this corona crisis going on. I wish that all your family members and friends will stay strong and healthy. Let's make good decisions to get this virus gone as soon as we can. Take care of yourself and one another. And as Dumbledore would say "Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light." I hope this chapter will help you distract you from things going on. _

_**And also, **__I now have an Instagram and Tumblr account: both are called __**vaniwawriter**__. If you fancy it, you can check it out and follow me there. I'll post tips about writing, as well as let you guys give me suggestions. It will be a bit more of an interactive way of reaching out to all of you lovely people who have been so supportive of my story thus far. Thank you and enjoy! _

"I honestly don't understand boys," Hermione said, crossing her legs on top of one another in order to sit a bit more comfortable. So far it wasn't working out so well. "They say girls are hard to understand, but I'd love to disagree."

"Would mixing seaweed with ginger be a bad idea?" Fred asked, and Hermione grunted absent-mindedly, as a way to say 'no'.

"I mean, it's been over a month! Why is it the two can't just make up already and start working on this mess together?" Hermione was staring at Ron, who sat deserted in a corner in the common room, surrounded by Seamus and Dean.

"What about frogs' legs with fangs?" George piped in. "That'll only give you an exploding effect." Hermione answered automatically, not really processing what he asked her as she continued her story.

"If Ron would just speak to Harry, he would understand that Harry didn't put his own name into the goblet. They've been friends for years, surely he would believe him." She frowned as she saw Ron pop a grim smile as Seamus and Dean doubled over in laughter.

"Exploding as in dangerous or as in excessive spreading?" Fred asked, after he had hummed to what she said. "Excessive spreading."

Hermione focused her attention back to the twins, who were sitting with a cauldron between them, hidden away behind some chairs and the table. Realisation then dawned on her that she had been answering their questions without meaning to, something she had sworn she would not help them with.

Smacking both the boys' arms, she tutted at them as they sheepishly grinned. "Not fair to use me at my weakest moment!" She huffed, but the boys just widened their grins. "Knew you would be eager to share your knowledge, dear Hermione." Fred said, then filled two cups with the freshly brewed potion.

"Bottoms up!" He said, clinging his glass with George's, and they brought it to their lips, gulping the contents down.

It didn't take long for the effects to take place, though Hermione caught herself holding her breath in anticipation as she waited. And sure enough, just a couple of seconds later the twins successfully made blisters break out on their faces, all of which looked awfully painful, but they clearly didn't seem to care.

On the contrary, they exchanged an excited high five, and then popped out a piece of candy from their robes. By now she had learned that this served as an antidote, one of the first products they had ever created. If only they could have made an antidote for Fred and her little problem.

After they had chewed it down, their faces soon returned to normal, and they shared victorious chatter as they poured the rest of the potion left in the cauldron into a sealable jug, and stored the parchment – that had many words crossed out and multiple words scribbled along at almost every corner of the page – into the ever growing pile of other parchments.

"That worked out brilliant! Never would have guessed frogs' legs and fangs would cause that breakout." George said, a glistering in his eyes as he smiled wickedly. "What d'you say, Hermione? Fancy helping us out more? You'd be a great addition to the team."

Hermione raised his eyebrows at him, causing Fred to snicker. "I think this is my cue to leave. I'll be off to the library, off to do things that aren't illegal, thank you very much."

"Now you've done it, Georgie. Scared the lady off." George bumped Fred with his fist, which resulted in a playful fight. Hermione, taking their distraction to her advantage, slipped past them to go up the stairs leading to the girls' dormitory, swiftly grabbed her bag and stacked it with the homework that she would like to study.

As far as she knew she only had to finish another two feet of homework for History of Magic, write an essay for Transfiguration, practice some spells for Charms, and wanted to also catch up with some reading for Arithmancy. She was already quite ahead, but would like to keep it that way.

Satisfied with what she packed, she walked down the stairs once more, dodged the twins who were about to ask her for help again, and exchanged eye contact with Ron, who looked as if a Dementor just sucked out his soul. She tried to smile at him to cheer him up a bit, but all she got in return was a grimace.

Knowing it was no point to go up to him and convince him to talk to Harry so they could both stop sulking – she had tried that many times already and still to no avail – she instead decided to just leave through the portrait and head her way to the library. The only place where there was no drama. Just her and the books.

Or so she thought.

Halfway into her Transfiguration essay, having just finished her homework for History of Magic, she began to feel like someone was watching her, and with every word she continued to write, she began to grow more and more uncomfortable.

Unable to hold back her curiosity, she glanced up from her books, and immediately spotted the source: right in the back corner, just two rows away from her table sat Viktor Krum, the Hogwarts sweetheart under many girls, staring at her as if his life depended on it. Or no, scratch that. As if her life depended on it.

The intensity of his stare honestly made it feel like he could jump out of his seat at any given second and attack her right there. Clearly he seemed a bit embarrassed by being caught staring, as he quickly lowered his gaze, his cheeks reddening as he fumbled with the pages of the book in front of him.

Feeling no pity whatsoever, she was in fact ever so grateful to have his eyes off of her, and so she continued on her essay, only to have to stop a minute later when she felt the burning gaze on her again.

Once more she looked up at him, and once again did he quickly look away, although this time with a hint of a smile on his face. Glad that he looked away just in time, as a snarl was starting to form on her lips, she tried to focus on her homework just one more time.

Again it didn't last long, and now he really was starting to get on her nerves. She came here for her peace and quiet, to study without any distractions, and he was currently being a big one. "Fred?"

"_Yes?" _She was about to say something, but Fred already beat her to it. _"No, I'm talking to Hermione."_

"_I'm not going to say hi from you, George." _A light agitation hung on his lips as he spoke. _"Fine, George says hi." _Fred said in defeat, and Hermione let out an amused laugh.

She tried not to let her lips move too much since she still felt Krum staring. "Hi George."

"_She says hi back." _A smile lingered on her face as she heard the one-sided banter. _"I don't know what she wants, but maybe if you keep quiet, dear brother, then she can talk." _A short silence followed. _"Good."_

"_What's up, Hermione?" _The smile slowly faltered when she remembered why she contacted him. Shooting a quick glance up, she saw that Krum was still staring, and so she looked back down again, placing a hand on her forehead and dipping her head down, hoping it would come across as if she was in deep thought. "I'm being stared at."

"_By whom?" _Then another quick _"Shut up" _followed, along with an apologized _"Sorry, not you, Hermione."_

"Viktor Krum," Hermione answered, keeping her head low. _"Viktor Krum?" _Fred asked in surprise. Hermione nodded, but then realized he couldn't see that. "Yes, he's been staring for over an hour now."

"_She's being stared at by Viktor Krum." _She heard Fred repeat to George, and the tiniest of a smile crept back on her face. _"Want us to come and smack his arse?"_

Hermione chuckled softly, shaking her head. "No, thank you."

"_Fine by me. Let me know if you change your mind." _Hermione felt her smile widening to almost a painful extent, and knew she couldn't keep sitting like this whilst someone was staring at her. Surely Krum would think she was a maniac for smiling crazily at herself.

And so she packed her things back into her bag, and left the library along with Krum in it.

As she left the library, she could spot a familiar black haired boy in the distance, and so she took on a quick jog to close the gap between them. "Harry!" She called out, and he stopped in his tracks, turning around and smiling when he saw her approach, although it looked a bit strained.

"Where have you been?" She asked as they now continued to walk down the corridor together. "I just got interviewed by Rita Skeeter." Hermione whipped her head to him, raising her eyebrows, opening her mouth to say something, but he cut her off.

"Definitely not by choice." And so she closed her mouth again. "Well, what did she want?" Hermione asked, but Harry simply shrugged.

"She wrote down this rubbish story about my youth, although from what I could tell that quill of her wrote down all kinds of things I definitely did not say." Hermione scoffed. "Of course it did, can't be trusted, that woman."

They climbed up the marble staircase, and made sure to jump over a vanishing step. "So, have you and Ron made up yet?" She tried, but regretted it immediately.

Harry refused to make eye contact with her as he lashed out at her, quickening his pace in the process. "Won't you drop it already? Nosing in everyone's business. Honestly Hermione, you can be downright annoying sometimes, pushing things down people's throats."

Hermione gaped at him as she stopped in her tracks. "Excuse me?" She stammered, and with that he stopped walking. "The last time I checked it was called caring about your friends. Clearly you two are both undergoing severe negative moods about this whole ordeal. And mind you, I am the one constantly standing in the middle of it! I think I therefore have every right to stick my bloody nose in it."

She could have sworn she would be able to breathe fire if she continued to talk, and so she left it at that.

Harry softened his gaze, released a deep breath, and then took some careful steps her way. "I know, I'm sorry Hermione, I honestly didn't mean it like that. I guess I'm just under a lot of pressure lately." She was about to chide him some more, and so he hastily continued. "I know that doesn't make it right, but I also know you understand."

Hermione sighed, letting herself calm down. "I know, I know. I just miss seeing you two laugh together, and I truly hate to see you both suffer from it."

This clearly triggered something emotional in Harry, as he was quick to clear his throat and avert his gaze, and then he changed the subject. "Best get to the common room quick. Just realised I still have to practice for Transfiguration."


	10. Blast-Ended Skrewt

**Whispers in the dark**

**Chapter 10: Blast-Ended Skrewt**

_**A/N: **__I own nothing except my mistakes. __**Also, **__in honour of the Weasley twins' birthday I decided to surprise you all with an extra chapter for this week. This won't become a regular thing, so don't get used to it haha. Anyway, hope this will bring you some much needed joy in these times!_

"'Ello Hermione, fancy seeing you here." Fred said as he popped in the seat next to her, and soon after him joined another one on the other side of her. "Yes, great pleasure meeting up with you again." George added, a grin stretching out on his lips.

Hermione groaned, abandoning her homework as she took turns looking at the both of them. So far the Great Hall had been great for studying, as only her and a few other students were currently occupying it. However, if the twins were planning to stay, she knew it would be impossible to ever get some work done. "I told you, I'm not going to help you." She reminded them.

Fred feigned hurt as he let out an exasperated gasp. "I feel offended that you think we only come to you when we need you." Hermione raised a challenging eyebrow at him. "Isn't that what you've been doing, then?"

Now George joined in as well, tutting. "My, my, Hermione, has our dear brother done you this wrong that you think so badly of all of us?" The redhead shook his head, then shot a quick glance over her shoulder at Fred, a wicked grin now playing on his lips. She did not like the look of that.

"Well spoken, Georgie." Fred replied, nodding in agreement. "No, we came here for something much better."

"Yes, you'll love the sound of this." George added, and then let his twin brother explain, leaving Hermione to constantly turn her head left and right.

"How about we skid to Hogsmeade for today, have a bit of fun and relax for once?" Fred proposed, and Hermione was momentarily stunned shut, completely caught off guard. That was the last thing she expected to hear from them.

Regaining her senses, she shook her head. "This is awful timing with everything going on." Hermione said, referring to the Triwizard Tournament, and Harry and Ron's still ongoing fight.

"Actually, it's great timing." Fred said.

"Yeah, with our little brother having his head too far up his arse," George continued.

"And Harry on a hero charade," Fred added.

"And you sulking away in your books," George pointed out, shooting a disapproving glance at the many books sprawled out in front of her. Hermione had only a second to shoot him an offended glare in return.

"We figured: what better time than now?" Fred finished, leaving Hermione to let out a defeated sigh. As much as she hated to admit it, they had a point. She was overworking herself in order to not be torn between Harry and Ron, and to forget about all that was going wrong at the moment.

"And what exactly are you planning on doing at Hogsmeade, then?" Hermione squinted at Fred, but he took that as a yes as he shared a victorious grin with Fred over her shoulder. "Well, why don't you come with us and find out."

Hermione bit her lip, chewing on it in thought, but gave up her inner battle soon enough. "All right, all right." She said as she closed her books. "Don't make me regret it." She muttered under her breath, packing them into her bag.

"No one has ever regretted spending the day with us, Hermione, and soon enough you'll find out why." Fred said wickedly. Somehow she had a hard time believing that, but kept that to herself.

Dropping her bag off at the Gryffindor Tower, she joined them ten minutes later in the Entrance Hall, where they walked off down the Hogwarts grounds together, taking the familiar path to Hogsmeade.

Careful to mind her step, as the ground had become muddy from the drizzling rain that was currently soaking through their robes, she let out a laugh as George almost ended up in the split, a very unflattering yell erupting out of his throat when he got caught off guard. "Blimey, can't believe I've forgotten to sturdy up my shoes."

With that George took his wand out, pointed it to his feet, and muttered "Obdurates," and Hermione saw the shimmer of a bubble forming around his shoes, which disappeared not long afterwards.

Now, she had read that spell somewhere before, but typically it was not used for shoes, more to solidify objects like stones, for buildings. Never had she imagined to use it in a way like this. "That's so clever," Hermione breathed in amazement, and saw the twins shooting a quick glance to one another.

"Did my ears deceive me?" Fred asked, his mouth lightly agape. "I don't think so, brother. I think we just got a compliment from _the _Hermione Granger." George said, a twinkle in his eyes.

Hermione shook her head at that, breathing out a chuckle. "I'm serious, you two. I'd never have thought to use it for something like this." She said.

At this Fred humbly grinned, then took his wand out as well. "Well, don't shy away from it, it's really quite handy." He said, then uttered the incantation as he pointed his wand to her shoes. The same effect happened to her, and soon enough she felt that she didn't have to use so much energy anymore to keep herself from slipping, but instead managed to comfortably walk on the muddy ground.

"What about you?" She asked, as Fred tucked his wand away again. "Oh, I've already beat you lot to it back in the castle." He smirked.

"Zonko's Joke Shop," The twins both breathed at the same time in excitement after a couple of minutes of walking in silence. The rain had started to pour down, and so they had jogged the last two minutes, resulting in being unable to chat.

"This, my friend, is everything you could wish for," George said, opening the door and letting her and Fred go in first, before joining them afterwards.

The twins easily breezed their way past rows of stacked packets, all holding different kind of toys, and easily skipped their way over to what they were apparently looking for. Coming to a halt in front of a clothing section. One that Hermione didn't even know they had. Not that she knew much of the contents of this shop, anyway, since she had never properly stepped inside.

"Here, try this on." Fred said, handing her a pair of slippers. The base of them was as normal as it could be, and the top of it wasn't so bad either, besides that it wasn't something she would ever buy. The top held some fluffy pink material, that was actually very soft to the touch.

Taking the slippers from Fred, she raised a suspicious eyebrow at him. They were in the joke shop after all, their territory. Fred, most likely reading her mind, rolled his eyes. "We're not here to hex you."

Still, that didn't soothe her at all. "Loosen up, Granger. You look like you've swallowed one of our crackers." Fred joked when she still hadn't put on the slippers after inspecting them for a minute or two.

Figuring she might as well take a chance, she stepped out of her shoes, pleasantly surprised to find that the spell had clearly protected her socks from not getting soaked, and easily slipped into the slippers.

Releasing a breath of relief when nothing happened, she looked up at the twins again. "And now what?" Both the boys propped their arms over one another, staring wickedly back at her. "Don't you want to see how it looks on you?" George asked, nodding to something behind her. When she turned her head over her shoulder, she saw a mirror hanging on the side of the wall.

"Now, why would I-" but it was too late, she had already taken a single step, to try and get a more comfortable standing position, but clearly that was all the activity the slippers needed to activate, as she now involuntarily began to dance.

Shooting a menacing glance at the twins, who were doubled over, their laugh booming through the shop. She tried to stop, but found, that just like with the Tarantallegra charm, the one that made someone involuntarily dance, she could not voluntarily stop herself.

"I knew I shouldn't have come with you," Hermione said through gritted teeth. Fred, however, seemed to be the only one to hear her, and slowly let his laughter die out. "All right, all right, I think we've had our fun." He chuckled, approaching her carefully, as if she was an animal ready to attack her prey. Well, he wasn't quite wrong.

With a slow approach, he grabbed both her elbows, stepped with both of his feet on the side of hers, and gave her a light push to the back, forcing her to slip her feet out of the slippers and take a grounded step on the wooden floor behind them.

When she was back out of the slippers, Fred dropped his hands and bent down to grab the slippers, putting them safely back on the shelf. "Usually one stops dancing on his own after half an hour, but if they're lucky and someone comes along, they can help and break it off early." He elaborated.

Hermione wanted to be mad, but when she caught sight of their joyful faces, and how much they were in their element right here in this shop, she instead settled for a sigh. It was a harmless joke, and quite clever too. She expected many things to happen to her when she put those slippers on, but definitely not a hidden charm to take over her.

"Next time you prank me, you won't hear the end of it," Hermione warned, and the boys grinned, then hurried off down a couple of more aisles as they looked for some products to buy.

In the meantime Hermione took her sweet time putting her shoes back on, and inspected the products that the shop sold, but found she didn't have a clue about half of them.

As skilled as the twins were, they had already found what they were looking for in under just ten minutes, and so she met them at the door, where they joined her after they paid for some items that she didn't even want to know about.

"I feel like a giant Skrewt in this weather," Hermione said to the twins as they were almost inside of the Hogwarts castle. "Why's that?" George asked.

Hermione slid her arms back, so her soaked robes would dangle sadly down her sides, as she hunched forward and glided her feet over the muddy grounds. Just a couple of minutes ago she felt the charm work off, and so she now easily glided over the muddy track, imitating a Skrewt.

The twins took a moment to stare at her in disbelief, then erupted in laughter as they now made it safely into the dry castle, clutching their stomachs as their laughter bounced off the walls.

Albeit that the joke was lame, the fact that she made one seemed to do the trick for them, as the twins could barely breathe.

Right as the boys were on their peak of laughter, another redhead popped around the corner, one who looked mildly intrigued at the commotion, but had a scowl form on his face not long after he had spotted the three of them.

"I see, so you're off being a traitor now too, I guess." Ron spat at her, as the three of them approached them. The laughter of the twins now slowly came to a halt, and Hermione raised her eyebrows up at him in surprise. "What are you on about, Ron?"

"Chatting up with these two," Ron accused, shooting quick glances at his brothers, an icy look in his eyes as if they had all betrayed him. "Don't be so ridiculous, Ronald." Hermione scolded, clutching her fists at her side. She was having a great day, and refused to let him ruin it.

"Yeah, all right, go on and pretend like I'm the culprit. At least I'm not stabbing my friends in the back," He spat at her, and at this the twins left her side, and now protectively stood in front of her. "Okay, I think it's time for you to cool off, little brother." Fred spoke.

"Yeah, might suggest taking a step out into the rain, perhaps that will do the trick." George backed up.

Ron looked incredulously at the two of them. "Oh, sod off and mind your own business."

Now all the playfulness left the twins' bodies as they took a threatening step to their brother. "If you want to act like a butt-hurt school girl, fine with us, but leave others out of it, won't you?" Fred spoke in a low voice, his grip tightening on the bag he was holding.

At this Ron gazed between the twins to look at Hermione. "Don't go looking at her for help," George said, snapping his fingers to get Ron's attention back.

"Why don't you leave all of us alone until you finally get that stick out of your arse?" Fred proposed, then half turned his body to Hermione, his gaze softening. "Want to grab some dinner?" He asked her, and as she shot one last look at Ron, who looked like he could murder her on the spot if she were to say yes, she nodded her head at him, a small smile propping up in return when he smiled at her.

"I see how it is," Ron bellowed after them, and then heard him storm off the other way, back up the marble stairs.

"Don't mind him, Hermione," Fred said, taking a seat on the bench in the Great Hall. "Yeah, he'll get his senses back soon enough." George agreed, and then left to join Lee Jordan, who called him over.

"I just wish this thing would be over, you know? I'm so done with this constant fighting. And I haven't even done anything wrong!" Hermione exclaimed in defeat.

Fred smiled gently, but it was quickly replaced with a playful grin. "You can always go up to him and explode like the giant Skrewt you are, if all fails." And at this Hermione laughed, shaking her head at him as she lightly bumped his elbow. "Sometimes I would love to." She smiled, earning her a hearty chuckle from Fred, which warmed her up and made her forget all about their little encounter with Ron.


	11. Don't wake the dragon

**Whispers in the dark**

**Chapter 11: Don't wake the dragon**

_**A/N: **__I own nothing except my mistakes. __**Also, **__I skipped quite a few things from the first task, for obvious reasons. Anything that's important to know will be in the original books and movies. I only focused on the parts that would add to the story._

"Protego!" Hermione said as Harry blasted a spell her way. They had been practising their charms for hours on end now, having only one night before the First Task, and Harry still had a lot of work to do.

"You're not supposed to block it, 'Mione." Harry groaned. Hermione sighed, letting her back be supported by the wall behind her. "I know, I know, I just got scared for a second."

Harry blew out a long exhale, then took off his glasses with his free hand, rubbing his eyes before putting them back on. "All right, let's try this once more." He proposed, and Hermione straightened up and away from the wall.

"Okay, but – er – just promise me you've got the counter-spell well in your head." Harry nodded impatiently, then raised his wand up to her. "Stupify!" Harry said, and with an involuntary stiffening of her muscles, she felt her body heave down to the ground, a strange sensation as the soft pillows beneath her back supported her heavy weight.

Slowly seeing his shadow come into view, she heard him mutter the words, "Rennervate," and with an uncomfortable stiffness, she hoisted herself up, groaning as she tried to stretch her muscles, but failing to do so. "Glad we can finally check that one off the list." She complained, then gave a swift flick with her wand and watched as the pillows neatly stacked themselves up thanks to a banishing charm.

"The only thing left to do now is the Summoning Charm," Hermione concluded, taking a look at a scratchy piece of parchment laying on the table in the Gryffindor Common Room, where they had escaped to when it got too late and staying in an empty classroom would be a guarantee to earn them detention, numerous spells being crossed out when they had been achieved by Harry.

Harry gave a defeated moan. _"Look, I know you love to study, but frankly, I love to sleep, so please, stop talking." _Hermione tried to hide her startle, but nonetheless Harry saw her jump. "You okay?"

"Yeah, just my body protesting against the lack of sleep." Hermione forced a smile, and Harry shot her an apologetic look. "I appreciate you staying up with me, 'Mione." At this she could loosen up her smile, and make it more genuine. "Of course."

"Now, let's get to it." Hermione said, and took a seat on the couch, allowing her body some sort of rest.

Harry cleared his throat, pointed at the cushion she had stacked away, and saw his eyebrows furrow up in strained concentration. "Accio pillow," he said, but all the pillow did was give a feeble wiggle, before coming to a state of stillness once more.

"_It's nearing bloody two in the morning, Hermione." _Fred said, at the same time as Hermione was starting to talk to Harry, making her jumble up her words. "Perhaps try to hold your two a bit more lightly in your hand."

Hermione shook her head, scrunching up her eyebrows in embarrassment as she realised her mistake. "I mean wand, not two." Silently cursing Fred in her mind, she watched Harry cock a questioning eyebrow at her, but then he shrugged it off and held it a bit lighter as she suggested, and tried the spell again.

This time the pillow lifted up a bit more, but fell down with a soft thud on the other cushions just a few seconds later. "Oh, come on," Harry said through gritted teeth, his frustration popping in.

"Just take it easy, building up-" _"I repeat, two in the morning-" _"morning, no, I mean, frustration, is not going to do you any good," _"What are you even doing anyway? Who are you talking to?" _"talking, I mean, being gentle on yourself is a must. Tomorrow you'll have to perform under pressure as well. You've got to be able to do it at least here in the Common Room-" _"Common room? I might just come downstairs and make something explode, if you don't keep quiet," _"before you explode, no, not that, I mean, before you have to do it in front of the entire school."

Harry stared blankly at her, as she fumbled with her entire speech. "You're lucky I didn't catch half of that, because I'm sure if I did it would have been a horrible speech." Harry shook his head, but at least it seemed to distract him a bit.

With this he tried once more, and miraculously, the pillow got some movement in it. "Yes yes, that's it!" Hermione yelled in excitement, then quickly put her hands on her mouth, forgetting it was in the middle of the night. _"Sure, why don't you wake up the rest as well. Let's all have a party," _Fred said sarcastically, but once more it messed with what she was going to say. "Wake it!"

"No, I mean, hold it!" Hermione growled in frustration at herself, yet was thrilled to see Harry successfully bring the pillow to him. "You sure you all right, Hermione?"

"Yeah, just tired." Hermione said feebly. It wasn't exactly a lie. Harry nodded, then heaved a very deep sigh, his shoulders slumping forward in a desperate tiredness. "It's probably best if we get some sleep, yeah. This'll have to do for tomorrow, right?"

Hermione, not wanting to dampen his spirits, tried to offer him a motivating smile. "I'm sure you'll do fine, Harry. Just stay calm, and you'll be good." _"Harry? The bloody nugget, I'll get him for ruining my beauty sleep." _Harry smiled weakly, then told her goodnight, and left to go to the boys' dormitory. "That beauty sleep hasn't been doing you much good up till now, anyway. I'm sure you can do without it." Hermione spoke into the empty common room.

"_Ouch, no need to be so mean." _Hermione smiled as she could hear his playfulness in his voice. "Good night, Fred." _"Yes, finally. A very good night to you, too, Hermione. I hope you don't sleep." _Hermione chuckled softly as she snuck her way up the stairs, a dreary tiredness sweeping her into a short lived sleep.

\- x -

Next afternoon, right after lunch, Hermione dusted off her sweater from any bread crumps before she put on her jacket. Wrapping her scarf tightly around her neck, she craned her head to try and look for some familiar redheads. _"D'you think Harry will lose a leg this tournament?" _Hermione froze in her search, then squinted her eyes as she turned her head, skimming the entire Great Hall to try and find the boy to whom the voice belonged to, but to no avail. They must have already gone ahead. "Oh, don't be so grim, Fred." Hermione said under her breath, as a Ravenclaw pushed past her.

Spotting a long haired redhead in the distance, she picked up her pace as she joined Ginny and Neville. "There you are, 'Mione." Ginny said, turning to look at her. "I don't suppose you've seen Ron, have you?"

"_Honestly, Hermione. You don't believe he'll make it through this tournament without a scratch, do you?" _Hermione shook her head at Ginny. "He's been avoiding me for over a week now." She sighed, a frown appearing on her forehead.

Ginny scoffed, "What's going on with you two, anyway? I thought it was just Ron and Harry who were having a fight." Hermione turned her head slightly to Neville, but he just kept his focus straight ahead, trying almost too hard to show that he wasn't listening in on their conversation, even though it was obvious he could catch every word they were saying, considering they were walking right next to him. Hermione appreciated the gesture, though.

Shrugging her shoulders, she heaved a broken sigh. "I don't even know, Gin. Currently I'm being dragged into their fight, and I have no intention to mingle myself in that. Made that clear to him, he didn't really like it."

The little redhaired girl shook her head, her lips pursing together. "If I get a hold of my dim witted brother, I'll knock some sense into him." This earned her a light chuckle from Hermione, who shook her head. "I appreciate it, but I think we'll manage. I just hope that today will prove him that Harry didn't want any of this to happen."

They had now made it out onto the Quidditch field, where the stands had already filled up quite a bit with a lot of chattering students, all wearing excited grins. She, however, didn't feel that much excitement. She was scared for Harry, and was bummed about the fact she hadn't gotten a chance to speak to him this morning, to wish him some luck. She was just hoping he was holding up all right.

"Look who's come to join the show!" Hermione recognized that voice all too much, and felt her lip curling up in frustration. It was not a voice she wished to hear today. "I put my money on Harry to lose his head today, figured it would be an easy earning."

Whipping her head around, she noticed she wasn't the only one to do so. Ginny joined her just as heatedly. "Feeling real confident, aren't you, Malfoy?" Hermione spat. "Yet, I want to bet that if it had been you who had to go through this Tournament, you wouldn't even have had the nerve to step out into the range."

This got him momentarily shut up, an offended look on his face. He was about to reply, but then a voice came up behind her. "Go bother someone else, slimy git." Fred. She didn't even have to turn around to know it was him. She could distinguish that voice out of a room full of people.

"Don't think I'll take pity on the poor, Weasel. If you came to beg, I suggest you go elsewhere." Malfoy replied, and she felt the twins brush past her. She, however, did not feel like rising the tension today, and so she grabbed both of them by the arm. "We don't need money from people who rip it off from someone else." George said through gritted teeth, and Malfoy popped a victorious smirk as Hermione pulled the twins – with some difficulty – with her to the stands.

"Come on, you two," she grunted, then shot a pleading look at Ginny. The girl looked hesitant, surely being eager to let them lose and have a go at Malfoy, but then heaved a sigh as she gave in and helped her push the boys to where Neville was standing, looking quite nervous at the spot they were just standing at.

"Why'd you stop us?" Fred complained. "Yeah, we could handle the git just fine." George added. Yet, Hermione wasn't having any of it. "Today is not about that scum. We're here to support our friend, not pick a fight."

This got Fred loosening up as he released a lazy grin. "No, you might be here to support your friend, Hermione,"

And as per usual, George finished his sentence for him, "but we're here to watch Harry get a beating."

Well, that earned them both a smack on their arms, which made the twins laugh. "No hard feelings intended! We're just here for a good laugh." Fred said, and Hermione shot him a glare. The only reply he had to give was a wiggle of his eyebrows.

Not long after the First Task was announced her nerves grew and grew as she had watched the other candidates go about it. All barely making it through with just a light scratch as they tried to retrieve the golden egg from the dragon.

At last it was Harry's turn, and she anxiously clasped her hands, watching with bated breath as he took his sweet time trying – unsuccessfully – to try and grab the egg. "Come on," she whispered under her breath, and then caught a movement on her bottom left, seeing a certain redhead flinch back, a look of terror on his face: Ron.

Looking back at the field to see what happened, she saw the remains of fire burning on a rock, one that Harry had just fled behind from. Good to see Ron still cared.

Things were not going well, and by the looks of it he seemed to have forgotten all about last night's practice. "Your wand, Harry!" Hermione screamed at the top of her longs, hoping he'd hear her. She saw him grab for it, and released a shaken breath as he said an incantation.

"So that's what has kept me up last night, isn't it?" Fred whispered to her, leaning into her as he spoke. Waving him off, she kept her eyes glued on Harry. Things seemed to be going well now that he had his broom, until the dragon shot loose.

Hermione instinctively moved closer to Fred as she yelped, trying to search for Harry in the sky, but failing to spot him. The entire stadium had gone eerily quiet for a moment, until a rush of anxious whispers glided over the stands.

"Where did he go to?" Hermione asked no one specifically, still desperately looking around. "Now that's what I call a wicked game, Georgie." Fred said, and Hermione looked at him incredulously, seeing how his lips were cocked in a smile, his eyes widened with excitement. "A wicked game it is indeed, Freddie."

She let out a gasp of disbelief, but forgot all about it as Harry popped back in sight with tremendous speed, sweeping over the stands and grabbing the egg.

Hermione burst out in excitement, clapping and screaming along the way. A heavy sense of relief washing over her as she saw her best friend still alive and well.

Now that the first task was over, and the candidates had gotten their points, the stands had started to empty out, and together with the Weasley family and Neville she walked back to the common room. The twins had said they had managed to get food and drinks delivered there. When she asked them how they had managed, however, they refused to tell. Neither could she recall any conversation of them having arranged this.

However, it wasn't her top priority right now. All she cared about was getting up to the Gryffindor Tower and finding her best friend. And when she did, she rushed to him to take him into a hug. He was clearly overwhelmed by all of the attention, as she wasn't the only one clinging to him. Many people were reaching out for him, cheering at him.

It didn't take the twins long to make her release her grip on Harry, before they lifted him up and started saying how they had faith he would make it. This made her scoff, although the slightest sign of a smile popped on her face. Such liars, they were.

Taking a seat next to Ginny, she took the glass of fruit juice she offered her, and took a grateful sip. She hadn't realised how dry her throat had gotten from all the screaming until she felt the juice go down her throat.

Her attention was soon grabbed by Ron, who apologised on his own way to Harry, and couldn't help but smile as she saw them embrace. He then turned to her, and scratched behind the back of his head. "Look, 'Mione, I didn't mean to be such a jerk." Knowing that was all the apology she'd get out of him, she got up and put a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it. "Next time, don't involve me in your drama, okay?" With this he let out a sheepish grin, and nodded.

Harry, however, looked beyond confused at them. "Wait, what did I miss?" Hermione hesitated, not sure if she wanted to involve more people in what Ron had seen and said.

Ron beat her to it, however, as he told him about how he had seen her with his twin brothers. Harry's eyebrows shot up in surprise at this, and turned to look at her. "What were you doing with them?" Hermione, feeling a bit awkward, shot a desperate glance around, finding the twins in a corner. George was the first to catch her eye, who in turn elbowed Fred, who then looked at Hermione.

Pulling up one eyebrow, she saw his lips move, but only barely. _"What's up?" _Knowing she couldn't rely on their backup, she turned her attention back on her two best friends, who were still expectantly awaiting an answer.

"I just ran into them, that's all." Hermione lied, but she knew they didn't buy it. Luckily for her, however, tonight was a party, and Seamus, being oblivious to the situation, interrupted them by asking for the egg to be opened.

Well, once Harry did Seamus knew he asked for the wrong thing, as all people in the room clutched their ears, trying to block out the screeching from that egg.

"_You better not keep me up another night because of that egg." _Fred said, and though her ears were clutched shut, she heard him clear as day. Shooting him a shrug, she replied with a smile tugging on her lips. "Can't make any promises." And was glad to see him pout.


	12. Dance with me

**Whispers in the dark**

**Chapter 12: Dance with me**

_**A/N: **__I own nothing except my mistakes._

It wasn't long after her Transfiguration class where Professor McGonagall had announced the Yule Ball, that Hermione was now seated in the library, studying during her free period. Nothing out of the unusual, except for getting interrupted right as she was intensely covering the topic of Giant Wars. She was inclined to know to it well, as this would be covered in their O.W.L.s.

It was for that same reason that she had to refrain from snarling at the person interrupting her. "Hermione," the voice said, although her name didn't sound right as he said it. Looking up, she had to lift her head up just slightly higher until she met eyes with Viktor Krum. He looked rather nervous, but above all, incredibly awkward.

His hands were fumbling with a schoolbook he was holding, and his lips seemed like they didn't know whether to smile or to grimace, and so they lingered somewhere in between.

Waiting for him to say something, she cocked him a questioning eyebrow, and so he cleared his throat. "So, the Yule Ball will be soon, and I was wondering if maybe you would like to go with me?" His accent laid heavy on his words, but through that she could hear his uncertainty, a lack of confidence, which she found very interesting. Viktor Krum wasn't known for being insecure, but then again, that went for Quidditch. She supposed he didn't have much experience when it came to girls.

"Oh," Hermione said, keeping her voice down as to not alarm Madam Prince, yet unable to hide her surprise. All these girls around the school that were drooling over him, and he asked her? "I'm not sure yet," Hermione drawled out those words, unsure whether to say them or not.

She would go with him if she had no other choice, since she didn't want to go alone, but to be honest, she would rather not. She was sure he was a nice guy and all, but all the staring had really made her uncomfortable around him.

"Oh, okay, well, let me know," The words stumbled out of his mouth, and she only had the chance to nod in agreement before he took off.

Groaning, she packed up her stuff, now being too distracted to focus on her study again, and feeling the need to rant, she figured it'd be safer to do so outside of the library. Besides, her free period was almost over. "Honestly, he seems like a nice guy and all, and yes, he's quite handsome, but I possibly can't go to the dance with him. He freaks me out too much with all his staring at me whilst I'm studying," Hermione said to Fred, although, if anyone were to walk by, they'd figure she had gone mad, talking into the air like that.

Luckily for her everyone was in class, though she made sure to lower her voice whenever she passed by a classroom. "Like, it's almost as if he's trying to convey the information from my brain to his."

It remained silent on the other end, however, and so clutching her books tighter when they almost fell out of her arms (she hadn't brought a bag today), she stopped in her tracks. "Are you even listening, Fred?"

"_Oh, were you talking to me?" _He whispered back, and Hermione sighed, picking up her pace again. Trying to not sound out of breath as she walked up the many stairs, she replied, "Perhaps we should find a way to properly announce we're going to talk to one another."

"_We could just say the other one's name," _Fred proposed, still keeping his voice quiet. She wondered for a second why, then realised he's still in class.

Climbing up the last set of stairs, she took a moment to regain her breath before she continued. "Yes, sounds good. So, did you hear anything of what I just said?" She made the familiar path to the Gryffindor Tower, said the password and walked inside.

"_Something about Krum and the Yule Ball, or something." _She was about to agree, but he had already continued. _"To be quite honest, I blocked you out when you began to become so sappy about him." _

Hermione's mouth dropped lightly open, feeling offended. Dropping her books on the bed, she grabbed just her ink and quill, knowing that in just ten minutes all houses were required to study in the Great Hall, and since Professor Snape would be supervising it, she knew for a fact that he would hand them out homework.

"I wasn't sappy about him," Hermione defended herself. "Anyway, Krum asked me to the Yule ball, but I really don't want to go with him. He makes me so uncomfortable." Hermione confessed, leaving the girls' dormitory and pushing through the portrait to find her way back downstairs.

"_Then don't go with him." _Fred replied, and Hermione bit her lip, feeling quite embarrassed to tell him what she was about to say. "But he's been the only one to ask me to go…" With anxious breath she awaited his reply, bracing herself to be laughed at.

Yet, to her surprise, he didn't laugh. In fact, he replied very casually as he said _"Then go with me."_

For the second time today she stopped in her tracks, right before she would go down another flight of stairs. "With you?" She spluttered in surprise. _"Yeah, just as friends. Could be fun, you know." _Hermione recovered slightly, and started to take the stairs down. _"Perhaps I'll finally get you to loosen up a bit." _The smirk was apparent in his voice, which by the way, had gotten a bit louder, meaning she was about to run late for her next class.

Hurrying down the steps, she took a bit of time to contemplate his proposal. Wouldn't it be weird to go with Ron and Ginny's brother? Yes, they had gotten closer over the months due to what happened, but still, were they really that close? Then again, did it really matter? She had known him for years. It couldn't be that weird.

And so, she gave in. "Well, I mean… I suppose why not."

She didn't get a reply as she had now made it to the Great Hall, where most people had already taken seats, but still found a free spot next to Ron.

In front of her sat the Weasley twins, and Fred gave her a playful eyebrow wiggle. Immediately starting to doubt her decision, she groaned, but tried to not think about it. In fact, it was the first time that she was happy to see Professor Snape, as this would mean they had to get to work, and had no time for talking.

And sure enough, things were going great once Snape handed all his students their notebooks to make their assignments, until some movement in front of her caught her attention.

She saw Fred passing George a note, and then nodded his head to Ron. His brother got the idea, and threw the note to Ron, who in turn shot his head up from his homework. Ron threw a quick glance around the Hall to see if any teachers were watching him, and when he saw no one was, he opened the note.

This also caught Harry's attention, and by now, her plan of peacefully working had once again, failed.

Ron read the note, and Hermione curiously watched the display between the brothers. "Who are you going with then?" He asked George. The latter looked around the table, then rested his eyes on Angelina, and scribbled a note himself. Throwing it to her, he waited for her to read it, and once she did, she gave her agreement.

Now both the twin brothers were grinning, making Ron even more glum. Figuring nothing more interesting could come out of this, she focused back on her work, but was once again, interrupted by another redhead.

"Hermione, you don't have anyone for the Yule Ball," Hermione cocked an offended eyebrow at him, opening her mouth to scold him for such a disrespectful assumption, but then her head was already slammed down by a certain grease haired professor behind them.

"Believe it or not, Ronald, someone has already asked me to the dance," she said, and then huffed angrily as she picked up her things. Handing in her finished work to Snape, she made a pit stop at Ron, "and I said yes."

She caught Fred's eye for a moment, and saw a smirk played on his lips at her outburst.

And as she stormed out of the Great Hall she could hear Fred chuckling mischievously under his breath, but was glad he didn't tell Ron that it was him she would be going with. She wasn't quite sure yet if she was ready to face another fight with Ron.


	13. Best Friend's Brother

**Whispers in the dark**

**Chapter 13: Best friend's brother**

_**A/N: **__I own nothing except my mistakes. __**Also, **__thank you all so much for all the kind reviews! I'm so happy to read that you guys are loving this story as much as I am. As for writing, I'm already twenty chapters ahead of all of you, and let me just tell you, I can't wait for you to read those as well! _

It was already getting quite late at night, and her books lay forgotten next to her side as she had propped her legs up on the table in front of her, relaxing back into the pillows of the couch near the fireplace. It had been a long day, one where Seamus had managed to explode something almost every class. It was like First Year all over again.

Ginny came sitting down next to her with a load thud and an even louder sigh, grabbing the pillow and hugging it, and thus grabbing Hermione's attention. She didn't look sad or anything, just very tired. Guess it had been a long day for the both of them. Though she loved school, she couldn't deny the fact that the more they were heading towards the end of this year, the more work they got. Even with the tournament going on.

Which reminded her that the Yule Ball was right around the corner as well. "So, Neville told me that you two are going to the Yule Ball together." Hermione said, a bit of laziness to her voice. She wanted to talk, really, she did, but she also couldn't be bothered to make such a big deal of it. Not tonight, at least.

"_Wait, my little sister is going with Neville?" _Fred asked incredulously, but Hermione was unable to reply, as she was seated right next to Ginny. She would hear her if she said a word. Turning her head to look around the common room, it didn't take her long to spot Fred and his friends on the other side of the room. _"Hermione just said Ginny's going with Neville." _She saw him explain to George, but Hermione just shot them both a look that told them to shut up about it.

Ginny, who was clearly feeling the same way she was feeling, lazily turned her head to her. "Yeah, he asked me, just as friends, you know." Ginny said, and Hermione nodded in understanding. "Whom are you going with?" She asked, and Hermione considered on what to say.

Safest way to avoid telling the truth was to propose a different truth. "Krum asked me." This wakened Ginny up a bit, as she straightened herself up. "Krum? And I assume you said yes?"

"Well.." Hermione hesitated. It was clear that anyone would expect her to have said yes to that boy, so how do you tell someone you turned down one of the most popular boys at school? "Not exactly."

Ginny gasped, and as Hermione fully turned to look at her, she realised how young Ginny was, still. She often forgot, because she was always so mature, but the fire really brought out her youthful features. "Why not?"

Heaving a bored sigh, she told her the same thing she told other people: how he made her uncomfortable. And though Ginny nodded, Hermione also knew she didn't really understand. "Well, what about my brother?"

Hermione frowned, being quite confused. "Which brother?" A loud snicker was heard in her ear, and her eyes immediately shot to Fred, who purposely avoided her eye, but still carried a grin as he looked right past his friends, meaning it was meant for her. "Ron, of course." Ginny replied equally confused.

"Oh right." Hermione scolded herself for not figuring that out immediately. Right now she basically created suspicion herself, and it didn't seem to escape Ginny's notice, for she, in fact, looked beyond suspicious. Her eyes squinted together, giving her a motherly stare. "What about him?" Hermione asked as casually as she could, as to try to cover up what just happened. It didn't make Ginny drop her suspicious stare, but it did refrain her from asking questions.

"Has he asked you to the ball?" Hermione nodded. "Yes, but I said no." With this all suspicion left Ginny's face, and made room for more confusion. "What, why?"

Scoffing, she recalled what happened just a little over a week ago, and explained Ron's rude comment. Ginny growled, then shook her head. "Sounds like that will be a second beating he'll get from me." Hermione chuckled lightly, but shook her head. "It's Ron, he just can't help it."

"Well, does that mean you're going alone, then?" Ginny said after a while, perhaps when she was done imagining beating Ron up. Biting her lip, she debated her answer. And whilst debating she caught Fred freezing in his movement, popping his ear out as if that would make a difference. He'd hear her just fine. Just like she could hear all his loud chatter and laughter, though tried to desperately tune it out. It was downright frustrating to think of a lie when a certain someone couldn't stop talking about a fish dancing in the desert.

"Just some guy, but I was actually hoping you could help me out with my dress." Well, if you can't tell the truth, you can always avoid it, right?

At this she saw Fred cock her a humorous eyebrow. _"Hermione Granger, are you embarrassed to go with me?" _

Hermione glared back at him, becoming quite frustrated by the fact she couldn't reply, and even more so when she saw his lips turn into a smirk.

Deciding to distract herself, she focused back on Ginny. "I was planning to go to Hogsmeade this weekend, but I have no idea on what to wear." Hermione explained, and Ginny gave her a pout. "I wish I could go! But Mom forgot to sign my permission slip this year. I'll have to wait until next year. Instead, she said she would buy me a dress." Her face dulled at that, and her voice became dubious. It's clear she didn't trust her mother with that responsibility.

"Anyway," Ginny said, once she had snapped out of her train of thought, "I think you should go with a soft colour, nothing too crazy. Unless you want to grab all the attention, then do be my guest, of course." Hermione's eyes widened, and then vigorously shook her head. "Oh no, I definitely do _not _want to grab any attention."

"_How can you not grab any attention when you'll be with me?" _Hermione's head shot momentarily to Fred, long enough to see him with a smug face. _"After all, I'm a looker. No one will be able to keep their eyes off me." _

Trying not to show or voice her disgust, she clung to every word Ginny said, hoping it would distract her. Why, of all people, did she have to be linked to Fred? "Well, nothing wrong with a little bit of attention. I wouldn't go all boring and flat. I know you Muggles love that, but here in the Wizarding World, whether you want it or not, you'll get the attention. All of our dresses are decorated like a Christmas tree."

Hermione groaned, but Ginny went on. "Your best shot would be to get something minimal at one of the smaller stores. There won't be a lot, but I've heard there's one at the very end of Hogsmeade. You'll always get a dress with _something _on it, though. That's inevitable."

Accepting her faith, she nodded. "Thanks Gin, I'll go and take a look."

"_You know what's even better? Going full 30's. They had the best frays." _Hermione turned her head to him, cocking a curious eyebrow. How come he knew about fashion. Fred also turned to her, then rolled his eyes. _"Saw it on one of my mom's pictures. She and her friends had gone all out." _He said, answering her unasked question.

"What's up with you and Fred, anyway?" Ginny asked, and when Hermione let her eyes glide back to Ginny, she saw her curiously looking from Fred to her. "Nothing," Hermione said, trying to brush her off, but she wouldn't have any of it. "Oh, come on, Hermione, you might fool my brothers, but I know something has changed."

At this point both twin brothers were glancing her way, she noted as she shot one last glance at Fred. "Like what?" She asked, dreading the conversation.

"Like you hanging out with him, and actually having conversations with him instead of only scolding him." Ginny elaborated, but Hermione rolled her eyes. "I've known him for years, Gin. Surely we've talked before."

"Oh yes, but never this much." Hermione, figuring the only way to escape this conversation was to physically remove herself, got up off the couch. "Perhaps it just wasn't that obvious before. Maybe we have been talking in secret for over years, and are only now finally opening up." Hermione sarcastically drawled, then left before Ginny could say another world.

"_Sure is, George. I wonder how fiery she can get." _She heard Fred say, a wickedness to his voice. Oh no, that definitely couldn't be good.


	14. Dancing the blues away

**Whispers in the dark**

**Chapter 14: Dancing the blues away**

_**A/N: **__I own nothing except my mistakes._

"Fred?"

"_Yes?" _

"I'm not sure about this." Hermione said, biting on her lip as she looked around her. All corridors were very dim, only the slightest of a flicker of light coming from the torches on the wall. It was late in the evening, and not far off in the distance could she hear the drumming of music and chatter.

"_Getting cold feet?" _She could hear the grin in his voice, which made her purse her lips. "I'm serious, Fred. What if they ask questions?"

"_Then let them. There's no harm in two friends going to the ball, is there?" _He said, and she could imagine the rolling of his eyes that would go with this statement. "Since when are we friends, anyway?" Hermione tried to say it with a smile, to let him know she didn't mean it in a rude way.

"_Now, don't go hurting my feelings, Hermione." _There was a playfulness to his voice, and she was glad to hear he didn't take it the wrong way. _"Just get down here. I'm starting to look like a real idiot waiting here all by myself." _Truth is, she was right around the corner, she just didn't dare step around it.

What if people would ask them questions about why she and Fred went to the dance together? What if people would make fun of what she looked like? What if she came across Ron, or worse, Malfoy?

"Where's George?"

"_Off snocking Angelina, I don't know." _Fred replied absent-mindedly, and Hermione took a deep breath, knowing it would be rude to stand him up. She just had to keep breathing and try to enjoy herself.

And so she stepped around the corner, and the only thing left for her to do was walk down the set of stairs. But, oh Merlin, those set of stairs had never felt so long before. Yet, when she spotted her certain redhead, she felt herself calm down a bit, as he eased a smile on his face. _"There you go."_ He encouraged, and with one deep breath she took her steps down the stairs.

Breaking off the eye contact with Fred momentarily, she found Harry and Ron stare at her in astonishment, and it wasn't until she joined Fred – who offered her a dramatic hand, with the slickest grin on his face and a drawled out "My lady," – that their mouths dropped open in profound surprise.

Walking past the two with a raging heart, she heard a whisper pass her by saying "Just some guy, huh?" and was just in time to see Ginny over her shoulder, a mischievous grin playing on her lips.

"I see you managed to keep it simple," Fred said, leaning into her, his breath scraping down her face, sending shivers all over. She definitely wasn't used to such proximity, let alone having her arm rest in his. "Wasn't easy to find." Was all she managed to breathe out.

By now they had managed to join the others in the Great Hall, finding themselves a place between the mass of students whom were all waiting for the Tournament players to make their entrance and start the dance.

"I don't think my little brother is too happy with me taking you to the dance," Fred spoke, and when Hermione turned to look at him, she saw a grin stretched on his lips, his eyes staring to somewhere in the distance in front of him.

Following his trace, she saw Ron looking over at them, his lips pursed shut and a frown having engraved in his forehead. His robes hung sluggishly over his body, and though Padma was trying to chat him up – albeit it with a very bored expression – he ignored her completely as his eyes remained fixed on Fred and Hermione.

Breaking the stare, she took a sharp inhalation of breath as she propped her chin up, trying to play it off cool. "Well, he has no right to be upset by my choice." It came out snobbish, and with the way she was behaving she was certain it came across that way, but it was better like this. Sure, it bothered her that Ron was this affected, but she meant what she said. Ron and she were just friends, just like Fred and she was. There was no reason to be upset by the matter. Besides, he tried to ask her out quite rudely. She still hadn't really forgiven him for that.

Before she had any more time to sulk in her thoughts, the music began to play, as all four players walked through the grand wooden doors, their escorts clinging on their arms.

First in came Fleur Delacour, accompanied by Roger Davies, a Ravenclaw in his sixth year, the latter looking absolutely smitten by his partner, as he seemed unable to take his eyes off of her.

Right behind them came Viktor Krum, with Morag MacDougal on his arm, another Ravenclaw, though she didn't know much about that girl. All she knew was that she had to repeat her first year, making her a fourth year student right now, putting her in the same year as Hermione.

Viktor, on the other hand, kept a stony look on his face, and though she had seen his eyes glance over at her before, they were now fixated on something in front of him, as if trying to avoid seeing her at all costs. She couldn't really blame him, though. It had been quite an awkward encounter when he had come up to her just a few days ago to ask her if she had thought about his proposal yet, and she had to turn him down, even letting it slip that she had completely forgotten to inform him. It wasn't the most friendliest thing she had ever done.

After them came Cedric Diggory and Cho Chang, though she could see Harry eyeing them gloomily, staring almost longingly at Cho's back. It was no secret that he had hoped to have gone with her, and had quite an interest for her, even though he had not yet voiced this. Instead, he was left with Parvati Patil, who, in fact, looked delighted to be at the centre of attention.

"Got a real strut in his step, he has," Fred said, nodding his head to Cedric, who looked the most charismatic out all of them. Hermione let a smile form on her lips, then cocked an inquiring eyebrow at him. "When does he not?" Fred smiled back, and gave her a little side dip with his head. "Fair enough."

Joining the crowd to circle the dance floor, she watched as the players began the dance. When it was Harry's turn to show his moves, she honestly didn't know whether to feel embarrassed for him or whether to laugh. So, instead she was left with a grimace on her face, though tried to shoot him an encouraging smile.

One by one more pairs started to join, and at this Fred turned to her. She only now took this moment to notice that he had seemingly combed his hair well, as it smoothly fell down his face, almost cupping it due to the length. Not a single strand of hair was out of place, which was quite unusual for him.

His robes looked a bit better than Ron's, definitely having a more defined fit to him, though she could tell the sleeves were a bit too short for his long arms.

"May I have this dance, Hermione Granger?" Fred drawled, a smooth expression on his face and a playful twinkle in his eyes. Hermione couldn't help but chuckle, and felt a light heat rush to her face. "Why, of course, Fred Weasley, I would be delighted."

Fred shot her a grin, then stretched his hand out to her, palms up and waiting for her to grab it. Taking his hand, he accompanied her to the dance floor, and put a hand around her waist. "I have no idea how to do this," Hermione confessed in a hushed whisper.

Fred just wiggled his eyebrows, and grabbed her a bit tighter. "It's a good thing you got paired with an incredible dance partner." At this he initiated his first step, guiding her back, leaving her no choice to follow his lead, and without a warning, made half a turn, allowing her robes to swirl around her body.

Releasing a surprised laugh, she felt her lips stretched into a wide grin as he moved them across the dancefloor. It was clear that he was as clueless as she was when it came to dancing, and yet, he managed to do it with such conviction that in a weird way, it still made sense. Well, sort of, at least. She was certain that moving across the entire dancefloor in just a few steps wasn't per se part of the dance, as they had gotten some annoyed and exasperated glances from some pairs, but it sure did add to the fun.

What made it even better was his joyful expression, which sometimes changed to a daft expression as he tried to imitate a true medieval gentleman, but always ended in a laugh as he twirled her around.

She had gotten so much in the flow of his twirling, swinging her around and moving across the dancefloor as she, at least, tried to still avoid other pairs (Fred couldn't care less) that she hadn't noticed how out of breath she had gotten until the third song had come around.

"I think I need a drink," Hermione laughed, out of breath as they almost stumbled and fell of the dancefloor. They both released a hearty chuckle as they bumped into another pair, trying to get off the stage, and Hermione mumbled a quick apology.

Fred grabbed his side, flinching a bit as he let out a grunt. "I don't think I've ever gotten so much movement at once in my entire life," he said, rubbing a sore spot. This made Hermione laugh again, and now she was the one reaching for her side, feeling a pinch around her stomach. "Oh dear, I don't think I ever have either."

Fred laughed, despite his body protesting. "I'll get us a drink," he began to move, but then shot a glance over his shoulder, a smirk playing on his lips, "don't try to escape."

Hermione smiled at him, and shook her head. "I wouldn't dare." At this he grinned, and disappeared in the crowd.

This might have been the happiest she had felt in a long time, and she had to take a moment to gather her thoughts as she took all of it in. The entire Great Hall was filled with students, most of them gathered on the dancefloor, sharing laughter and joy, though some were sprawled around far away from the dancefloor. There were pairs who were casually chatting, but also some lone people who simply stared off somewhere in the distance.

She hadn't expected much from this night, but so far it had been incredibly successful. It almost felt quite mischievous, but that might have just been because of the way they had been dancing. It did feel quite odd to remember that it was Fred she was with. After all, prior to the beginning of this year, she hadn't hung around with him much, for obvious reasons. They just weren't that alike. Yet, at the moment, it made a lot of sense.

She was always so stuck up in her books and was often way too serious, and he? Well, he might have been too careless and free, but it definitely gave her a much needed escape from her uptight behaviour.

"So you are a traitor after all," a gloom voice spoke behind her. Turning around, her smile faltered as she saw Ron sitting on a bench, drooped low to the ground as he sulked away. "What are you talking about?" She asked, but all she got was an angry look in return.

"Oh, don't play dumb, Hermione. You're off fraternizing with my brother," he spat at her. At this her mouth dropped open, unable to believe what he was saying. At loss for words, she spluttered out her next sentence. "Don't be so ridiculous, Ronald. He's your brother! How in the world am I a traitor for going with him?"

This entire situation seemed completely ridiculous and unbelievable to her, and though she wished she wouldn't care, she still couldn't help but feel her spirits being crushed to the ground.

"_Whoa, is everything okay over there?" _Fred asked, a worry laced in his voice.

Hermione couldn't be bothered to look around and see if he was near yet, as she kept her eyes rooted to Ron's. She first wanted to know why he was acting so weird. "You're kidding yourself, right? You two have never been friends. What's the sudden scheme about?"

She still didn't know what to say to this, but did know she was getting seriously angry with him. He was ruining a night that was going so well, and had made her feel alive and well in such a long time, and she knew that he wasn't going to take this from her.

"I don't know what your problem is, Ron, but Fred and I just came to this dance as friends. After all, isn't that the point of this entire tournament? To not only unite between international schools, but also your own?" Hermione stammered, but he looked unconvinced.

"Right, just friends, huh? I think he has got a bit more than friendship on his mind." Ron scoffed, though the rest of him didn't move a muscle. He simply remained there, dropped low on the bench with the most careless body position.

"Don't be ridiculous! So, what? You're saying a girl and a boy can't simply go to a dance together and still be just friends?" Hermione demanded, honestly trying to figure out what kind of point he was trying to make, and why he was acting the way he did.

"All I'm saying is that you two have never been friends, so don't try to play me as stupid by saying you are." Ron said coldly.

Hermione was about to reply, but felt a warm hand on her shoulder, giving her a gentle squeeze before the figure stepped by her side. "I think you need to ruin the party elsewhere, little brother." Fred spoke, a threatening look on his face.

Ron let out a humorous laugh, though his voice shook a little as he spoke. "I'm not the one ruining the party." He said accusingly, but stood up nonetheless. "Have fun playing out your ridiculous charade." He spat at them, and though his face portrayed betrayal, she hinted a feeling of hurt in his voice.

Usually she would care, but right now she was mad. Like, blazing mad, and if Fred hadn't held a strong grip on her arm to keep her from following him and giving him a piece of her mind, she would have definitely exploded in his face.

"I can't believe him," Hermione spoke in exasperation. Fred gave her a look of pity, and let his annoyed features soften on his face. "Don't waste your night on him, Hermione. He's just great at being a brat, doesn't mean he has to ruin our night."

Yet, though she knew he meant well, she couldn't help but feel like the night had already been ruined.

Looking at the hand holding her arm, she noticed he hadn't gotten them drinks. As if reading her mind, he let her arm go and explained. "I figured I'd come and save you from my brother first before getting us that drink."

He looked over her shoulder, presumably to the where the drinks were located. "If you want I can still get us some." Hermione shook her head, letting it hang. "I think I'll call it a night."

She saw Fred taking a step closer to her, his black faux leathered shoes coming in sight. His arms hung awkwardly by his side, making small hesitant movements as if he didn't know whether to use them or not. At last he made up his mind, and one came up to swiftly lift up her chin, and dropped as soon as she looked at him.

"Oh no, you are not leaving like this." Fred said firmly, and she pointed a questioning eyebrow at him. "You, Hermione Granger, were having the time of your life tonight," - Hermione felt the smallest of a smile tug on her lips – "and I will not let you leave without that laughter that had been booming around this hall only minutes ago."

At this the smile cracked open on her lips, but yet she let out a soft sigh. "I don't know, Fred, I know you mean well, but I'm really not feeling it."

A hint of mischief washed over his face, and was accompanied by a fire in his eyes. "That wasn't a choice I gave you, Hermione." And with that he grabbed her hand tightly, and dragged her back to the dancefloor, ignoring her shocked protests as they weaved through the crowd.

They were just in time for a pumped up song, and with a grin on his face he began to flap his arms around and bopped his head to the music. "It's time to get out of that head of yours and actually live for once," He managed to say over the music.

Hermione contemplated it for a second, but then figured he was right. She didn't want Ron to ruin her night, and so she wouldn't let him. Carefully she began to dance like him, and within minutes she was on his level, actually cracking a laugh again, as he pulled out the most extraordinary weird movements she had ever seen, until by the end of night, she was doubled over from laughter, not a worry on her mind.


	15. A little lie to save the day

**Whispers in the dark**

**Chapter 15: A little lie to save the day**

_**A/N: **__I own nothing except my mistakes._

"Spit it out," Hermione let out a yelp as she wheeled around, staring into a dark common room. She had just gotten back from the library, and had tried to be as quiet as possible for it had now been late at night.

Making out two dark figures near the low burning fireplace, she took a few hesitant steps forward, a hand on her wand as she approached them, but upon seeing who they were, she visibly relaxed, letting her hand drop by her side again.

"Blimey guys, you two scared me to death." Hermione scolded, releasing a shaky breath. Harry and Ginny seemed unfaced by this, remaining eerily serious.

"What's going on?" She asked, taking a seat on the chair opposite of them. "We want to know what's going on with you and Fred." Ginny demanded, and Harry nodded in support.

Hermione was about to open her mouth, but Ginny was quicker. "We don't want any more excuses. You've been avoiding us for four days now, and we really want answers."

Groaning, she grabbed the pillow from behind her back, embraced it and popped her feet up on the chair, giving her a place to feel safe and protected. This might just be a very long night. "I told you before noth-"

"Oh no no no, we've heard enough of _'It's nothing, we're just friends_'" Ginny interrupted. "We want the real deal. Since when are you two friends? And if you're just friends, how come you're so secretive about it?"

Harry nodded, then gave her a gentle look. "Look, 'Mione, we heard about the ordeal with Ron" – Hermione tensed up at his – "and though we don't agree with the way he acted" – Ginny nodded vigorously, saying "not at all" – "we can't help but feel the same. Something is going on, and as your friends, we just want some clarity, you know?"

Hermione nibbled on her lip, not sure how to answer this. Was she ready to tell the truth? And why was she even so hesitant about saying it? Sure, they had agreed not to tell their friends, but for what reason again? Because they weren't ready and were trying to fix the situation before anyone would even find out?

They knew by now that their situation wouldn't be able to get fixed, unless they suddenly were to get rich, and besides, they have had plenty of time to process what has happened by now. So, really, they got no excuse to keep hiding it for much longer. After all, it was putting a serious strain on her friendships.

"Well?" Harry pressed, dragging her out of her thoughts and back to the dimly lit common room. Just because she knew it would be fruitless to keep it a secret, she still didn't want to tell them yet. After all, it wasn't just about her. Fred was a part of this as well. If they were going to tell people, or at least close friends of them, then they would need to discuss this together first.

And so she decided to lie. The one things she really didn't want to do, and had tried to avoid doing for a very long time, but knew there wasn't any other choice she had right now.

"Fred and I-" Hermione started, but was caught off guard by Fred. _"Whoa whoa whoa, hang on, what are you doing?" _She thought he was already asleep, but clearly not. _"I don't know, George. She suddenly started talking about us." _

Hermione tried to ignore him, as she saw the expectant looks from Harry and Ginny, urging her on to continue. "We've just grown a bit closer, I guess." _"If you'd be quiet, my dearest brother, I would be able to follow what she's saying."_

"Closer, how? When?" Ginny inclined, her eyebrows raised. Hermione took a moment to think. She had honestly not even given it a single thought about what she would lie about.

Shrugging, she heaved a sigh. "I don't even know how it happened. I guess with them working on their products, and me trying to scold them, we have just, you know, gotten to know each other a bit better." Hermione tried to hide a grimace as she knew how bad this lie was. This was exactly why she never lied. She simply sucked at it.

"_I think she's trying to lie." _She then heard a chuckle. _"She's doing a horrible job." _Tutting quietly at the insult, she tried to remain focused on her friends, who were exchanging looks with each other. "That really doesn't make sense at all." Harry said, and this time it was Ginny who nodded in agreement.

Hermione knew they'd say that. Of course they would say that. Nothing of this made any kind of sense, and she really didn't want to even be in this situation. Yet, here she was.

"I know it sounds weird," Hermione tried to stay focused on her own words as Fred started talking at the same time – _"D'you think we should help her?"- _"but them being stubborn as they are," – _"Dunno Georgie, she sounds like she's really struggling" _– "insisted on showing me how it worked and why they were doing what they were doing before I would judge."

"_Should we throw a stink bomb in there?" _Harry's frown deepened as he processed her words. "And that was so effective that you two became friends?" His words were laced with doubt, and once again, she really couldn't blame him at all.

"No," she said, figuring that playing along might be a better approach. _"You're right, that would be too obvious."_

"Of course it didn't, but it did loosen me up a bit. I guess they just took that as a sign I'd be okay with what they were doing," Hermione lied, but got a protest from Fred. _"Merlin's beard, she's blaming us now. Unbelievable."_ And had to refrain from rolling her eyes. "And so sometimes we'd just chat."

"_Okay, really time to interfere, Georgie." _Hermione just wished they would hurry up already. This lying thing really wasn't for her, and she desperately needed help.

"It still doesn't make sense that you were such great buddies that you went to the dance with him." Harry said, and Hermione shrugged. "We were both just looking for a date, and I figured I would give it a chance. Figured it might be fun."

This time Ginny spoke up, still looking confused and above all, very suspicious. "But Krum already asked you. Why not go with him?"

Now this was something she could be honest with. "I already told you, Gin. He makes me uncomfortable, and I would have gladly said yes to anyone besides him."

"Ron asked you, but you turned him down." Harry noted, but Hermione was quick to wave that away. "Fred asked me just moments before, and I had already said yes, which is why I said no to Ron."

"Why would my brother ask you, though?" Ginny asked, then added a quick "No offence to you, of course."

Right at this moment she heard footsteps coming down the stairs from the boys' dormitory, and heard some distant chatter. She could only hear Fred's voice clearly, obviously, and figured out soon enough they were fake chatting with each other, pretending to go down to the common room to look for some quills to tickle Lee Jordan awake with.

Harry and Ginny clearly heard so as well, and turned their heads to them. "What are you doing here?" Ginny asked them, and the twins stopped mid-conversation. "I could ask you the same thing, little sister." Fred said, making a quick stride to join her on the couch.

"Yeah, isn't it long past your bedtime?" George added, taking the other side next to Harry. "'Ello, Hermione." George greeted her, a wicked smile on his face. Hermione just gave a polite nod back. She really couldn't use it to be very friendly with them right now. That would only make things worse.

"Why are you all looking so grim?" Fred asked, casually stretching his legs out and laying them on Ginny's and Harry's lap.

Ginny grumbled, pushing his legs off of her lap, making Fred almost fall down to the floor, but he caught himself just on time, letting out a laugh. "None of your business, Fred."

Fred smiled wickedly, cocking her an eyebrow. "Then make it my business, _Ginny._" He said, and laughed when he smacked her with a pillow. "Yeah, let us in on the fun," George said, then threw his brother a pillow so Fred could smack her back.

Ginny yelped and protected her head with her arms, but when Fred continued relentlessly, she instead opted for standing up in frustration and distancing herself from him. "Just go away, guys." She whined, and suddenly Hermione was made aware of how young Ginny still was.

Yet, Hermione couldn't help but smile at the sibling interaction. She had never experienced this, for she didn't have any siblings, but she had always imagined it would go something like this if she had had one.

Harry made eye contact with her, and she quickly dropped her smile, making him squint his eyes at her in suspicion. Lovely.

"Well, it's been a delightful conversation, but I'm going to bed now." Hermione announced and arose from her seat. "Oh no, we're not finished yet," Ginny said, but Hermione cocked her an eyebrow.

"I already explained to you, Gin. There's really not much more to say." This time Ginny cocked her an eyebrow. "You didn't answer my last question." She stated, but Hermione just shrugged. "If you have listened to what I have said, you can answer it for yourself."

With that she made her way to the girls' dormitory in a rush, preventing either Harry or Ginny from any more questions. She felt terrible having to lie, and wanted nothing more than to escape from it all.


	16. Wicked

**Whispers in the dark**

**Chapter 16: Wicked**

_**A/N: **__I own nothing except my mistakes._

"You're never going to take a break, are you?" Hermione looked up warily from her schoolbooks, making eye contact with a small red haired witch who was staring back at her with an amused look.

Christmas break had just come to an end, but nothing majorly exciting had happened these days. She, along with the rest of the Weasley family and Harry, had stayed at Hogwarts. In fact, most of the Hogwarts students had remained at school, since Durmstrang and Beauxboutons would keep their residence there.

And now that she and Ron were fighting, once again, Harry was now the one torn in the middle, and so half of the time she'd be on her own. The twins had used their free time to plot out some new experiments like crazy, and Ginny was off with Neville or some other girls from her year most of the time. That had left her to study alone in the library most of the times, something she didn't mind in the slightest.

And even though school had started again a week ago, she was still deeply buried in her books. After all, she felt like she couldn't start preparing early enough for her O.W.L.s that she would have to take next year.

"Never." Hermione grinned at Ginny, then momentarily laid her book beside her on the table. The plate in front of her, filled with some egg on toast, was still untouched, and she figured she'd do well to consume some food. After all, it was no good trying to learn on an empty stomach.

Taking the toast, she took a hungry bite out of it, but grimaced when she chewed. The toast had gotten quite dry from laying there for almost half an hour, and the egg had gotten cold. Oh well, at least it would still give her the much needed energy, and so she kept on eating, taking a sip of her pumpkin juice every now and then to help swallow it down.

Hermione had been so focused on her study, that she had managed to almost completely block out Fred's voice (as best as she could), but now that she was distracted, his voice rang clear as day in her ears once more.

"_Just gonna have a bit of fun, Gred." _She heard him say, but didn't have to wait long for some more information, because just a few seconds later she saw two red haired boys strudding through the doors of the Great Hall, their hair flaying about almost as wildly as their robes. Which, by the way, had sloped practically all the way down to their arms, and were nowhere near hanging on their shoulders.

Only Fred shrugged it back on properly right before he took a seat opposite of her, and George joined right after. _"Watch this." _He whispered to George, and though no one around could hear, she definitely could, immediately grabbing her attention.

Hermione squinted her eyes at him in suspicion, but he just gave her a wicked smile. Scribbling something on a note, he took his sweet time folding it into a bird, and then, with the sweetest faked smile, he cupped it in his hands, and blew it right at her, but not before whispering something into it.

Astounded, she saw George mimic Fred's wicked smile, and without a single warning the bird began to whistle, grabbing the attention of all people surrounding her at the table.

Feeling her cheeks heat up, she was silently cursing under her breath as the bird came closer, and had no choice but to catch it before it would poke her eyes out. As soon as she grabbed it, the whistle died out, and now a complete silence surrounded her.

Flaming up with embarrassment and anger, she shot a menacing look at Fred, who simply gave her an encouraging playful smile for her to open the note.

"What's that?" Ginny inclined, but Hermione refused to open it. Yet, had no choice as Harry made a move to reach for it, and she had to scoot back from refraining him to do so. The last thing she would want is for him to grab it and read it out loud. She had no idea what could be in the note, but she sure did know that if Fred wrote it, it couldn't be anything good.

And thus she opened it, taking a deep breath to brace herself for whatever it might say.

_Meet me at the clock tower after dinner. _

_-Fred_

Hermione snapped her head to Fred, her mouth dropped open in exasperation. All he did, however, was give her a wink, a flirtatious smile tugging on his lips.

"What's that about?" Ron asked, popping in front of Harry to give her a questioning look. His face had gotten almost redder than his hair, and she could almost see the internal struggle of him trying to decide whether to be angry or not.

"It's nothing," Hermione lied, hurriedly putting the note between her schoolbook and slamming it shut. This seemed to be the wrong answer, because Ron let out a loud scoff. "Keep it to yourself, then." He said, sarcasm dripping to his voice as he averted his eyes.

Biting her lip, she got up from her seat, feeling relieved to hear the bell ring just on time. "Looking forward to seeing you tonight, Hermione." Fred said, standing up along with her, his voice drawled out sweetly and a quirky smile on his lips.

Shooting him a death glare, he just winked at her once more, before walking out of the Great Hall with George, who was laughing like crazy as they went.

Hermione, wanting to avoid any questions, hurried out of the Great Hall, trying to build up some distance between her and her friends. "Fred Weasley," Hermione whispered furiously under her breath.

"_Yes, Hermione, how can I help you?" _Fred replied casually, though she could practically hear his smirk. "What in the world did you just do?" She chided, almost pushing some poor second year into a wall, but still had the decency to mutter a quick apology. _"Just having a bit of fun." _

"That's not funny!" She exclaimed, a little louder than she wished, and by now a lot of students were looking her way, giving her strange looks. Not that she could blame them, she must have looked out of her mind, and so she knew she couldn't say anything else.

"_On the contrary, it was quite hilarious, actually." _And though she would have desperately liked to have scolded him, she had no choice but to remain quiet, and so instead she found the nearest seat in front of her Transfiguration class, and fumed silently all the way through her next couple of hours, dreading the moment that dinner would come around.

Yet, as much as she dreaded it, time did pass, and before she knew it she was back at the Great Hall, trying to get herself to eat her soup, but really not feeling hungry in the slightest.

It didn't really help either that the twins were shooting her mischievous smiles from the other end of the table every once in a while, or that her friends were shooting her curious glances now and then. Though she had tried to sit as far away from them as possible, there clearly was no escaping it.

Her roaring stomach eventually got her to eat, though she made sure to do so in a hurry, so she could try to escape from the Great Hall and safely lock herself up in girls' dormitory, or something.

Finishing her last spoon, she got up a little too quickly, bumping into the table and almost making other people's bowl's spill over, and so she, once more, had to apologise. Whilst at the same time absolutely dying of embarrassment. Today had honestly not be able to go any more wrong.

Taking hurried steps, she was getting almost excited to escape from this mass, until her plan failed as a heavy weight was dropped on her shoulder, and she turned her head to see Fred grinning at her, letting his arm casually rest on her.

"Not running away, are you?" He whispered into her ear, and then guided her out of the Great Hall, earning him a groan from her. She didn't need to see the Great Hall to know they were leaving a lot of students with an astounded look on their faces.

As soon as they were out of sight, he let his arm drop, and released a laugh.

"How is this funny to you!" Hermione inquired. Fred heaved a sigh, shaking his head. "Blimey, you really need to learn how to have some fun." He said, which made Hermione scoff in return, trying to quicken up her steps so she could get rid of him.

Alas, it didn't work. His long legs had already caught up with her before she even had a chance to create some distance. "I don't see how any of this is fun." She huffed, stopping abruptly. Fred wasn't so much prepared for the sudden stop, and hopped awkwardly on the spot as he tried to not trip over his own feet.

He recovered quite soon, though, as he casually propped his hands in his pockets, a light smile on his face. Hermione looked him over, noticing how his blouse was not properly tucked into his trousers, but instead hung partially displayed over them, his sleeves rolled up and bundled at the top.

"Look, your friends, and frankly mine, think we're having a thing already, anyway. I just figured we'd have some fun with it." Hermione took a moment to breathe before replying, feeling herself calm down a little. She was mainly feeling incredibly confused at all this.

"But why?" She inquired, but Fred shook his head. "Merlin, not everything needs to have a reason. Just because it's fun. If they're so convinced that there's more between us, why not give it to them? Why not let them play in their own show?" A tuck of her lips betrayed her real emotions, and so she silently scolded herself as she quickly wiped away the smile. Though, it was too late, he had already seen it, and now he was grinning.

Taking a step closer to her, he took his hands out of his pockets and opened them to the sides, as if giving her a proposition. "It's just a harmless joke, 'Mione. Us fooling around with them will hurt no one."

Biting her lip, she considered his words as he dropped his arms back to his sides. "So, are you in?" He asked, his eyebrow cocking in question, a hint of hope twinkling in his eyes.

Groaning, she shot a quick look at the ceiling, as if asking the universe if she wasn't making the wrong choice right now. "All right, fine, I'm in."

Fred's grin widened to a full extended. "Wicked," he drawled.


	17. Friendly rivalry

**Whispers in the dark**

**Chapter 17: Friendly rivalry **

_**A/N: **__I own nothing except my mistakes. __**Note: **__There's two chapters left of the fourth year, both including the tasks. Since they're so big and detailed, and not really relevant to this story, I will only go briefly through them. So, don't expect details or very long chapters. Once they start their fifth year, however, the fun will be back between them! Thanks for sticking with me and all of your kind reviews! They mean the world to me._

It had been a rough month with many sleepless nights as Hermione had been helping Harry prepare for his second task. The library had been more frequently visited than their dormitories, yet, when she tried to recall last night, she couldn't remember much more than visiting Dumbledore's office before it all turned black.

Therefore it was a bit of a surprise to find herself regain consciousness in the cold water, a screeching noise entering her ears as a dozen students began cheering and clapping and screaming at the sight of her head. To say it was overwhelming was a bit of an understatement. Sure, of course she knew what she had gotten herself into when Dumbledore had asked her last night to join this task, but she hadn't been well informed about the cold it would bring when regaining consciousness, and if she hadn't been teeth chattering so much, she would have scolded the old man for not warning her.

Shooting a desperate glance around her she hoped to see a friendly face who could help her out of the water, because right now, her muscles felt stiffened to the core, and she saw no way of getting herself out of there alone.

Expecting to find Harry, she was extremely confused to instead see a boy with a shark head emerge, who shook his head to get rid of the spell, and leave a bald haired boy in its place. When Dumbledore had asked her last night if she was willing to join the task, he hadn't specified on who would be saving her, but she had simply presumed it would be Harry. Not in a million years had she thought of Krum being her saviour.

Trying to hide her slight disturbance, she let him put an arm around her waist as she let herself be dragged to the deck, eagerly accepting the stretched out hands that were willing to help pull her up. To whom those hands belonged, she did not know, for her hair was covering part of her face as the water splashed around her.

A sudden warmth overtook her, and found that a towel was placed around her shoulders. "Blimey, you had me worried." Quickly pushing away the hair that was covering her eyes, she looked up to find Fred sitting in a crouching position next to her, his hands tidying her towel tightly around her as he looked her in the eyes.

Shooting a quick glance around her, she found that no one was near yet, but they were well on their way, hurrying in their steps in the distance. "Why?" She could only ask, her voice shaky as she could have sworn that her lips had turned blue from the cold. If Dumbledore would ever ask for her help again, she made a mental note to never say yes again. "Hadn't heard from you at all since last night. I thought something was wrong."

Unable to help herself, she let a warm smile spread out on her lips. It's not like they had become the best of friends yet, but no one could deny that being forced to hear each other day in day out, did create some sort of a bond that was hard to explain. Besides, it felt nice to hear that someone cared whether she was around or not. Sometimes with Harry and Ron, it felt like her presence didn't matter at all. They could be so caught up with each other sometimes.

By now the people in the distance had caught up with them, and she could make out three ginger heads, all wearing a grin. "Bit cold for a dive in the sea, don't you think?" George joked as he closed the remaining distance. Hermione grinned, but then shivered heavily as a breeze of wind glided past.

Noticing her shivering, she felt an arm wrap around her back – whether that was instinctive or not, she did not know – and it followed with a rubbing motion, creating some friction which in turn gave her some much needed warmth.

That motion did not go unnoticed by either George or Ron and Ginny – the other two ginger heads that had come up – and especially Ron, who looked away quickly in discomfort, his wet hair from having been in the water himself letting some waterdrops fly around, was apparently a trigger for the twin brothers, because looking to the side, she could see Fred exchanging a cheeky grin with George, and before she knew it, George was crouched down on her right, putting an arm around her shoulder and pulling a piece of hair behind her ear.

"You must be cold, 'Mione. Here, let me warm you up." George joked, as he pulled her close to him. "It's all right brother, I was doing just fine," Fred jumped in, and tugged her into his side. "No really, Freddie, I'm still warm from all the running, she'll be better off with me." George said, and tugged her arm to him.

Meanwhile, Ginny was just plainly staring at her brothers, not sure whether to say anything, or what to think about this ordeal. And Ron? Well, he was pretending like nothing was happening, and yet, knowing him all too well, she could hint almost some sort of jealousy as he tightly tugged his lips shut.

"Boys, boys, I would like to stay whole, thank you." Hermione huffed, breaking herself free from the both of them by standing up and creating some distance. If she would have let that go on for much longer, then she would be convinced she'd have no arms left by the end of it.

The twins laughed, and joined her as they rose up as well. "Are you all right, Hermy-own?" Krum said, who had apparently walked up behind her. Making a slight twist with her body so she could face him, she decided to not make a commotion about the mispronunciation of her name, and instead gave him a tight smile. "Yes, I'm all right. Thank you for saving me."

Before Krum had the chance to answer her, Ron had stepped up from behind her, and covered half of her vision as he closed in on Krum. "Wouldn't have been necessary if you weren't the reason she was put down there in the first place." He said, his voice sounding agitated, and she wasn't sure whether that was only directed at Krum, or if that had been strengthened when he had seen the twins playing around with her.

"All right, little brother, let's not make a big thing of this." George said, putting a hand on his shoulder and Fred doing the same, pulling their brother a bit to the back. Wrong move, because this agitated Ron only further. "Get your hands off me," he grumbled, and stepped back himself, finding his place in the back with Ginny.

Krum looked a bit troubled as he watched Ron step away, but then faced Hermione again, scratching the back of his head as he then proceeded to wrap the towel tighter around his shoulders for warmth. Seeing him do that, she instinctively did the same. "Well, see you around, I zink." Hermione forced a smile and nodded, waving him goodbye.

"Tight fellow he is, isn't he?" Fred said, staring at the back of his head as Krum walked away. "Real pity, could have gotten all the ladies if he wasn't." George agreed. Fred closed the gap between him and his brother, and dropped a hand on George's shoulder as he grinned. "Glad we don't have that problem, right Georgie?"

Hermione huffed as she shook her head in disapproval, earning her a grin from George. "Right you are, Freddie." And with that the two of them walked away, deciding it was time to pester their siblings as they were all left waiting for Harry to show up.


	18. Horror maze

**Whispers in the dark**

**Chapter 18: Horror maze**

_**A/N: **__I own nothing except my mistakes. __**Also, **__next chapter we'll have a lot of fun again with the two aspiring lovebirds!_

She couldn't believe that it had been so long already, but ever since the Second Task things had been wild. They were drowning in homework, and she was kept so busy that even her ordeal with Fred – being able to hear each other – seemed like a second priority.

Although, if it was up to her, she figured that they both had sort of given up the search for antidote for the time being. They both knew they'd need something that neither of them could afford, and thus they had already sort of made peace with the fact that they would be stuck with hearing one another for a very long time.

It wasn't always too bad, though. Sometimes, when the Gryffindor students came together in the weekends, they all liked to play all sorts of games. And especially guessing games were made a lot easier whenever Fred or Hermione could help each other out by whispering the answer under their breath.

In the beginning she wasn't really up to doing so, because she considered it cheating, but as Fred had put it "It isn't cheating if you don't get caught. See it as a different way to play." Well, that argument was absolutely bollocks, of course, but at last he had her convinced.

And now, they were seated in the stands outside, enjoying the soft, warm afternoon breeze from June. It was crazy to think that after tonight, when the Third Task would occur, that they would be nearing the end of their schoolyear.

Things had gone by so quickly, and so confusingly at times as well. It definitely did not start the way she would have expected it to start – she definitely didn't prepare to continually hear someone's voice, but frankly, she didn't mind as much anymore. It did give her a chance to loosen up on the twins, and even dare say so, to loosen up a bit in her seriousness. But that was only to a certain extent. Making jokes once in a while had become more of a norm for her, but it shouldn't be to the extent of her schoolwork.

Watching over the enormous maze that was bouldering in front of them, she allowed a smile to spread on her lips as she watched the people on the stands. Many of them had applied the colours of their favourite candidate's House on their face, showing their support, and were excitedly calling into the wind with cheers, which were in turn lightly supressed by the music that was being played.

Ron was on her right side, caught up in a heated conversation with Seamus about who was going to win. Seamus had his bets fixed upon Krum, but Ron stuck up for Harry.

On her left were the twins – which started to seem like a pesky habit of theirs; always making sure to be around her – who were collecting money from students as they all placed their bets. Catching Fred's eye, she gave him a hard, disapproving look, but he simply rolled his eyes in return. "Oh loosen up, Granger. It's their pocket money that they want to waste."

Hermione curled up her lip ever so slightly in feign annoyance. Lately whenever she expressed her disapproval towards something the twins did, Fred would get all distant and call her by her surname. All with a teasing smile followed up by it.

Deciding not to let a good day be ruined by the twins' activity, she clapped and shouted loudly as Harry was the first to be introduced for the final task. Followed up were Krum and Fleur, who each got a roaring applause as well.

The three candidates bundled up together around Dumbledore, who, she presumed, was explaining the rules and wishing them luck. Much instruction, she was sure, wouldn't be given. From what she gathered the objective was simple: get to the middle of the maze, touch the cup – which actually served as a portkey – and get back to the audience to celebrate your victory.

Well, of course it wasn't that simple. If they had been in the Muggle world, the maze wouldn't be so intimidating. It would be complicated at the most, but certainly not dangerous. But they weren't in the Muggle World. This maze was different.

They couldn't see much of the maze, besides that the passageways were filled with mist, but she saw enough to see the greater outlay of it. "It's very complex," Hermione said, to no one in particular, but she knew that someone was always listening.

And indeed, on her left she caught some movement in her eye, and when she turned her head to the left, she saw Fred looking at her, a bit confused by the sudden speech. "The maze, I mean. It's very complex." She explained, as well as motioning with her hands towards the maze, pointing to the difficult points.

Fred breathed out a chuckle. "I'm sure we'd do well on our own if we had the chance to participate." Hermione furrowed her eyebrows at that. "Are you sure about that? You know, at first glance it might not seem like much, but the maze is enchanted. See that movement over there?" With that she pointed in the far distance, where you could only barely make out the shifting of the green bushes. "Besides, I'm sure Dumbledore didn't just keep it to simple bush shifts. Merlin knows what else is in there."

Cocking an eyebrow at her, he shook his head in light disapproval. "It still saddens me to this day, Hermione, how little faith you have in me and my dear brother." Hermione scoffed, a smile taunting on her lips. "After all this time I had figured you'd have heard all about our brilliance."

"Perhaps that's exactly why I have so little faith, dearest Fred. I think you two would actually manage to break the game if you two had been in it." For a second Fred looked at her, simply thinking over what she said, but then a grin sprawled out on his lips. Tapping his twin brother on the arm, he looked from George to Hermione and said: "She thinks we're brilliant, George."

Groaning, she shook her head as she saw George grin as well, high fiving his brother. "Honestly, boys.." but left it at that as she watched the last candidate, Fleur, go into the maze.

"D'you think he'd be all right?" Hermione asked, turning to Ron as by now Fred and George had emerged themselves in their own conversation, counting the money they had received.

Ron turned to her, his eyebrows furrowed together almost painfully, as if it troubled him to speak to her. He only did that when she was around the twins. Lately that hadn't been often, since she had been caught up in homework. In fact, today was the first time in ages, and yet, Ron was still as uncomfortable with all of the changes as he was months ago.

"He'll be fine," he assured. "He always is. You know that." Ron said, clamping together his hands as he propped his elbows on his knees, letting his head rest on his hands and therefore non-verbally communicating that he was done with the conversation.

Pressing her lips together she simply accepted it, waiting dreadfully as the hours passed by, and the audience started to grow a bit bored, whispering to one another as they speculated what kept them so long.

By the time the dark started to settle in, and she was now slightly shivering as the sun had left their skin and they had nothing else to wear than the outfit they had on, she began to worry. It had to be a good two hours since they had last gotten inside, and even the jury were restlessly huddled together.

Fleur had already been removed from the maze in the first half hour, and was now rooting with the rest of the audience for the other three candidates.

Hermione was almost starting to worry her pants off and planning on stepping up to the jury to ask what was taking so long, when a light caught all the attention of the audience and died out soon enough when a body was taking its place.

The music began to play once more, and people erupted in screams and applause, which all too soon got caught off when a woman screamed into the night. Taking a better look, she moved her head to catch a clear view of what was happening, and to her distress she saw another body laying on the ground, where she could hint some yellow on its shirt, with another boy hunched over him. She recognized the back of his hair too well – it was Harry. And if that other boy carried yellow, it must have been Cedric.

Putting two and two together, as she saw Harry's body heaving up and down in rapid movements, as if he was crying, and how he tried to shield the view from everybody, she clapped a hand over her mouth as she felt hot tears stream down her face.

Without thinking she let herself fall into Fred's body, seeking some physical comfort to process what was happening. From all the fun and games it had turned to a dead body in front of their eyes. Fred, who was as confused and caught off-guard as many others in the audience who hadn't gotten a clear view, took a look at her face, and furrowed his eyebrows as he was about to ask what was wrong.

Not daring herself to speak, she pointed around a student in front of them where he could see properly, and when he did, his mouth fell agape and she could almost see his throat dry out.

"He's back, Voldemort's back." Was all she heard as Harry's voice was carried through the silent night, which all too soon got disrupted when Cedric's father cried out in horror upon seeing his dead son.

At this Hermione couldn't help but let out a choked whimper, feeling more tears roll over her cheeks. Fred, who was tightly pressed against her, let his arm lightly snake around her waist as he pulled her even closer, somehow knowing that this was exactly what she needed right now.

Not doing anything in return, she simply stood there, watching the horror play out in front of their eyes as she was held by the boy she never thought she'd get this close to.


	19. Sneaky plans

**Whispers in the dark**

**Chapter 19: Sneaky plans**

_**A/N: **__I own nothing except my mistakes_

"Good night, sweetheart." Hermione sleepily looked up from the couch, taking her head off her propped up elbow where it had been resting on. "Night, mom." She said, and smiled as her mother put a kiss on her head.

"Are you sure you have to go already?" Her father asked her, waiting in the doorway, his silhouette shown as the light behind him shone upon him. "The Weasleys are expecting me tomorrow morning." And on second thought, she added, "I'll be all right. Nothing much happens out on the streets this late."

Her parents looked quite hesitant, but nodded in agreement anyway. She had told them that she would be taking the bus to the train station, and from there on make her way to the Weasleys by train, because they believed that the Weasleys had invited her to come and stay at their place by tomorrow morning. Little did they know that she wasn't going by bus or train, nor that she would necessarily go to the Weasley's house. But there was no need for them to know. The more she could keep them in the dark about the magical happenings in her world, the better off they'd be.

And so, with that they left upstairs to go to bed.

Waiting a couple more minutes, listening for any sound, she got up when there wasn't any and made her way into the hallway. Making a point of it to open and close the front door, and then to lock it up, she made her way back inside the living room as quietly as she could.

Picking up her luggage, she whispered "Reducio" as she pointed her wand to her bags. Usually they were not allowed to use magic outside of school, but simple spells like these were all right, seeing as they were harmless spells.

Dropping the shrunken bags into the fireplace, she grabbed for a small package inside her trousers, where some floo powder had been collected in. She had gotten this last week from Dumbledore as he had sent it with an owl, along with a letter as to where to go to and a reminder to not tell Harry about these things. Something he had written about in the beginning of the Summer as well.

It was quite hard to keep silent, as she now had to stuff herself in that fireplace, which by Muggle standards, was naturally smaller than those of Wizard kind, seeing as they had not need to travel in it. Which made this a little more complicated. Hence why she shrunk her luggage. At least now she could fit as long as she crouched and folded her entire body together.

"12 Grimmauld Place," Hermione whispered as she threw her floo powder onto the logs, holding the luggage with her other hands. With a flash of green light, along with a nauseating feeling, it took her only a couple of seconds to arrive at her designated address.

Usually it was not possible to travel to Grimmauld Place by floo powder, considering it was a safe house and allowing floo travel would be too dangerous, but they had made an exception for her. Which is why it was so crucial for her to get there in time, and had to scurry her parents off to bed before they would close it up again. She had exactly one hour to make it happen, and right now, she figured there would be only minutes left until the travel line closed.

Groaning, she let her luggage fall onto the carpet when she arrived, now having both hands free to squeeze herself out of that small place. Clearly the safe house wasn't built for floo powder either. Then again, it was still a Muggle house.

Stretching her back and dusting off her clothes, she looked up to take in her surroundings. It had appeared that she had landed in the living room, and was very glad to find that they had not left the fireplace that she had just arrived in burning, as she saw some burnt logs in the back.

Her eyes glided from the paintings on the wall over to a small coffee table, until at last they landed on the couches, where on one of them, two redheads were hunched over a piece of parchment. One with a quill half up in his mouth, and the other furiously jotting away on the paper, ink stains labelling his skin.

"Don't you two look dashing." Hermione spoke up, noticing the shorter haircut on the boys, and looked in amusement as both of the twins' heads shot up at the same time, the quill, that had been hanging in Fred's mouth, dropped out of it and fell into his lap.

The boys shot her a grin and hopped off the couches, laying their parchment and ink on the table, and then, at the same time, engulfed her in a hug. "All right, all right, great to see you too." Hermione chuckled, patting them on the back before creating some distance.

In the process of doing so, she almost tripped over her luggage because she couldn't see it due to its smaller size, and so she pointed her wand at it and said a simple "Engorgio" and watched with satisfaction as it returned to its proper size.

"What's all the noise about?" Came a voice from farther away, and as Hermione craned her neck, she could see a door leading to a lit room, one that easily resembled a kitchen. Not only a few seconds later Molly appeared, standing in the doorway with a spadle in her hand.

Upon seeing it was her, a smile appeared on the kind woman's face, and she closed the distance to take Hermione into her arms, giving her a good squeeze before letting her go. "Oh, Hermione dear, good to see you! How have you been?"

Hermione smiled, but watched as the twins removed themselves from the scene, focusing on their previous work again. "I've been well, thank you, Mrs Weasley. How's everything been going around here?"

Molly smiled, but waved her off. "Oh, busy cleaning, you know! Loads of dust to scrape off. Plenty enough to do, but first get in settled, dear. I'll call out Ginny to help you with those bags." She said, nodding at the luggage next to Hermione's feet. Now, she knew that Molly was not telling everything, but then again, Molly was never one to discuss matters with anyone who wasn't of adult age.

Back in the kitchen she could hear some chattering and laughter, but before she could check it out, she heard Molly coming back from the hallway, and not long after Ginny followed her steps.

"Ginny!" Hermione exclaimed with a grin, taking the young witch into her arms. All those nights at the Burrow had surely brought the two girls closer over the years. "Mom said you needed help," and shot a glance at her luggage, shaking her head, "but I think it's just an excuse to keep us busy." The last part she whispered under her breath, but loud enough for her to hear.

"Yeah, I figured. How have things been around?" Hermione asked, taking her backpack as Ginny grabbed her suitcase. "Hurdled, I'd say. Mom's trying to keep us busy as to not notice anything unusual, but I want to bet you that there's more going on than that they're telling us."

They arrived at the door to the hallway, and then Ginny pointed a finger to her lips. "Gotta be quite around here." She warned, and then led Hermione up the creaky staircases, not letting out a single breath.

Once they had arrived on the first floor Ginny opened the bedroom door, and once Hermione had followed inside, she closed it behind them.

"What was that about?" Hermione inquired, dropping her backpack on the untouched bed. The other had clearly been claimed by Ginny: socks and forgotten t-shirts were splattered across it. Even a roll of parchment had somehow ended up in the sheets.

Heaving a sigh, Ginny let herself fall down on her bed once she had put the suitcase down, a crunching sound following as the parchment was clearly being crushed by the weight. "How much did they tell you in that letter that Dumbledore sent you?" Ginny asked.

"_This looks great, George. We'll make a right business out of this." _Momentarily caught off guard, Hermione furrowed her eyebrows as she caught onto a piece of conversation that Fred was having with George. Now, usually she had gotten quite good at pretending that she wasn't constantly hearing his voice. Especially over the Summer. There had been not a single time that he had spoken to her, even though he could still hear her over the long distance, and so she learned to deal with it as she would when Harry and Ron tried to talk to her when she was trying to study. You hear the noise, you just don't focus on the words. It made it a lot easier to concentrate on the present matters.

Yet, with the confusion of the previous matter, she let her guard down and was now left wondering what in the world those two were up to.

Breaking out of her thoughts, she watched as Ginny expectantly looked at her.

Taking a seat herself on her own bed, she let her head fall down against the wall. "Not much. All that was being said was that you'd be expecting me here in this safe house this night."

"Well, it is a safe house now, yes. Owned by the Headquarters. You know, the Order of the Phoenix, you've heard about them, right?" Ginny checked, and Hermione simply nodded. She had read about it in one of her books. It was founded by Dumbledore back in the day as a way to oppose Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters.

"Right, so this isn't just a safe house. It's Mrs Black's house originally. You know, like Sirius Black's mother." Hermione raised her eyebrows in mild surprise. "I wasn't aware that this is where Sirius was hiding." Ginny nodded, and then looked at the door. "He's downstairs in the kitchen at the moment, chatting up with Dad." So that's what she heard before.

"I don't suppose Harry knows about this, does he?" Hermione asked, standing up along with Ginny as the latter hoisted herself off the bed. "No, I guess you got the note from Dumbledore as well that we aren't supposed to say anything."

Hermione nodded, opening the door for the young witch. "Right." She said, but left it at that. She knew it was for Harry's safety, but still, receiving all those letters from Harry and not being able to reply for his own safety made her feel rather guilty.

"How about we go ahead and do something fun?" Ginny asked, but lowered her voice as they walked down the stairs.

Opening the door to the living room, she watched as the twins were still huddled over sprawled out parchments. "Oh, I'd actually like to catch up with the twins for a bit, if that's all right."

At this she got some confusing looks from Ginny, but before the girl could ask Molly popped up in the doorway to the kitchen, calling out for Ginny's help. Glad to know she wouldn't have to think of an excuse, she silently thanked Molly for saving the day.

Making sure that Ginny was truly out of earshot, she made her way over to the twins and let herself drop down on the couch next to them. At this both of them tucked away some parchments, which earned them a suspicious squinting of the eyes. "Howdy Hermione," George said, a cheeky smile spreading on his lips.

"I haven't heard all Summer from you guys." Hermione pointedly said, making sure to accusingly lay her eyes on Fred. "No letters, and not even a _word_." At this Fred cleared his throat, scratching the back of his head. She had noticed that this was a thing that he would do whenever he knew he was guilty of something.

"We weren't allowed to write," Fred explained, and George immediately jumped in. "Yeah, exactly. If we had been we would have of course." Fred eagerly nodded, sensing her irritation and wanting to escape it, "Wouldn't want to break that promise we made you." He assured, referring to what he said before they left for home, how they'd write to her over the Summer and even keep her updated about their products. The latter was something she had requested, just for her to keep an eye out on things and to avoid further collision with failed experiments.

She knew that they were quick in conversational exchange to try and distract Hermione from what George had been hiding away not too long ago, but it didn't fool her. "I see you two have been busy." Hermione hinted, looking at the hassled papers laying on the table, each containing another recipe for something.

"Yes, we would have loved to check with you, of course," George said, and naturally, Fred followed, "but we couldn't. No worries though, no experiments this time." And then George shot a grin at Fred, "Well, not yet, no."

Shaking her head as they both had wicked smiles on their faces, she took a couple of parchments off the table and shot a glance over them. So far the recipes didn't look sketchy at all, and in no state of possible failure. But they were right, they still had to test it if they wanted to hand it out to others.

Not that she agreed with that.

"What about that parchment that you hid, George?" Hermione confronted, dropping the parchments aside. The boys shot a nervous look at each other before answering. "Wouldn't know what you're talking about." Fred lied, and immediately he got a smack on the head with a rolled up parchment that she grabbed from the couch.

"What was that for?" Fred asked in surprise. "I heard you say something about a business." George opened up his mouth to surely come up with a lie, and so she cut him short by saying "Don't waste your breath. I hear everything, remember?" George groaned, and now he was the one smacking Fred on the head. "I told you to be careful with your words, Freddie!"

Hiding her amusement at Fred's shocked face as he realised he was now being victimised by both his brother and her, he tried to dignify himself by returning the smack on George's head, which ensued a horrible squabble between the both of them as they tried to keep hitting each other, and she was the one who had to go ahead and literally throw herself in between them to keep their hands off each other. And most importantly, to keep Molly or Ginny from entering the room. She really needed answers first before they'd be set apart.

"Come on, guys. I've been helping you out multiple times last year. If you've got something, share it. If it's done in right will, I'm all about it." Hermione said, softening her voice to make her sound more gentile and genuine. She was serious. If they could find a way to take their hobby into something that wouldn't be harmful, she was all ears.

The twins hesitated, but eventually gave in. "All right, George and I are thinking about opening up our own shop. You know, one where we can sell our products. Making a living out of it." Hermione contemplated this, looking at the list of recipes again. Now these two were definitely not dumb. In fact, they knew how to use their brains. If they really wanted to, they could make it work. There was just one problem. "How are you planning to do that? You know, getting a place and ingredients doesn't come cheap."

George took out the parchment that he hid away earlier, and handed it over to her. "That's what we're trying to figure out." He said, and allowed a moment of silence so she could read over the scribbles of brain storming on the paper. To her relief, these were all legal ways for them to get ingredients. Like growing things themselves in a garden. But they hadn't figured out much about how to get money for a place. "We're still working on finding ways to get money for a shop." George elaborated, and Fred nodded. "One thing at a time, though."

Hermione nodded, and then handed them back the parchment. "Sounds interesting. If you could find a way to get some money I'm certain it will work."

The boys looked to each other, their necks almost cracking at the speed that they turned their heads in. "Did you just agree with our plan?" Fred asked in astonishment. At this George went to put a head on her forehead, as if checking for a fever. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure you meant to scold us."

Smacking his hand away, she shook her head. "I mean, I don't figure there's anything else you two would rather do. Besides, you know how to make people laugh. If you can do it the right way, well, then where's the harm in that?"

Fred put a hand to his heart, a mischievous smile playing on his lips. "Hermione, love, I think I am going to fall for you." George laughed at this, and started to sing a love song, but was cut short by a door opening.

"Hermione! Didn't know you had arrived already." Looking up she saw Ron entering the living room, his hair wet and his pyjama already on. "Yeah, I arrived like fifteen minutes ago. You must have been showering." She said, closing the distance and giving him a hug, which he returned sort of awkwardly, shooting a glance at the twins, who snickered as they shook their heads and returned to their brain storming, leaving Hermione to go ahead and catch up with Ron.


	20. Two can play a game

**Whispers in the dark**

**Chapter 20: Two can play a game**

_**A/N: **__I own nothing except my mistakes. __**Also, **__I got a couple of reviews asking me about Harry funding the twins the money! Yes, he did, but I didn't put it in yet, because Harry hasn't arrived at Grimmauld's Place yet and thus hadn't been able to give them the money yet. And I really want him to give it at Grimmauld's. So, that's why I haven't mentioned it yet! It will reoccur later on in this story. Thanks to all of you for your kind words and your constructive criticism! _

Huffing, she tried to reach for the highest shelf as she carefully balanced a set of plates on her hands, having been asked by Molly to help set the table for dinner. The thing is, Mrs Weasley could easily do this all by herself. A simple spell could set the table for her without having to waste any energy. Just like she was doing with the cooking right now. But even though it was only the second day here, she knew that Molly tried to find as many ways to keep all children occupied as to keep them in the shadows of what actually going on.

Holding her breath and biting on her bottom lip, she nearly drew blood as she made an inhuman bend in her back to get all the plates on the table without breaking them. After successfully putting them down, she blew away a strand of hair that had fallen into her face as she placed a plate at each chair.

"You know you could just easily ask Kreacher to do that, don't you?" Hermione looked up at the male voice, a bit taken by surprise as she was under the impression that only Molly and her were in the kitchen. Seeing that it was Fred, she tutted at him as she shook her head. He clearly had to learn a thing or two about her.

"I do not condone house-elves, Fred, and neither should you." She scolded as she watched him casually lean in the doorway, his shirt lightly holstered up at his shoulder as he pressed it into the wall. "Why not?" He asked, but before she could even open her mouth he held up his hand and added "Wait, don't tell me, I am quite certain that I don't want to know."

Biting her lip, she debated whether to tell him anyway or not, but figured that she'd give him this point. At least he was clever enough to know that she would be fighting him on this matter, and also, that she would continue until she had won.

"Where did you leave your other half?" Hermione asked, reaching for the utensils in the drawer, and then handing him half of it so he could make himself useful instead of just creepily staring at her in the doorway.

Fred cocked her a smile, but wordlessly took the utensils and carelessly dropped them next to the plates. Disorderly as well. "Ron and Ginny were bickering. Figured my sunshine was needed somewhere else. George was amused though, so he stayed to enjoy the show."

At this Hermione froze in her movement before she would drop her last utensil and squinted in what she hoped would be a threatening look. "You wouldn't have anything to do with that, now would you?"

Fred did what he always liked to do when he was in a good mood to tease her: he feigned hurt by dramatically slapping a hand on his heart as if she just broke it. "Hermione I cannot believe you assume that I could do such a thing." He then took a few steps around the table so he could close the distance between them.

"Fred, call out for dinner, please," Molly said, and by this Fred slapped a hand on her shoulder as he winked at Hermione. "But you might be right." He said with a laugh as he escaped his mother's slap of her towel, scolding him for causing a fight. At this he hurried out of the kitchen to retrieve people for dinner, leaving Hermione standing alone quite awkwardly as Molly curiously looked at her, clearly suppressing the urge to ask why in heavens Fred and her were talking.

Deciding that breaking eye contact would save her some awkwardness, she opted for taking a place at the dinner table, greeting Remus, Sirius and Arthur as they came in one by one.

Molly had just put the pans on the table before Ron and George came in, George clapping him on the shoulder as they made their way to the table. "Nearly felt the wrought of that." George said, a wicked smile on his face.

Ron took a seat next to Hermione, and she curiously looked at him. "What happened with Ginny?" At this George laughed. "Yes, what did happen, little brother?" Right on cue, Fred came in as well, taking a seat opposite of her next to George, and he easily copied his brother's smirk. "Do include me in the fun."

Hermione watched as Ron turned a deep shade of pink, but it wasn't so much in embarrassment, but more in a light sense of anger. "Fred and George here scared Ginny by apparating behind her, which in turn scared me and made me spill my drink on her." Ron shrugged, as if saying that he really wasn't at fault. "Yeah, got our little sister a little bit mad." Fred laughed, but got hit on the back of his head by his mother, just as George got the same thing.

"I told you to stop apparting all of the time!" Mrs Weasley grumpily exclaimed, but was soon calmed down by Arthur as he insisted that she should go ahead and sit down. "Where is Ginny now?" He asked his children, looking expectantly at the twins, but it was Ron who answered. "Well, eventually she started crying and headed upstairs. Must be changing clothes or something."

Taking a sharp look at the twins, Hermione was about to stand up to go and fetch Ginny, but Arthur gently turned her down. "That's very kind of you, but I think George should do it."

"Why me?" He whined as he was just about to serve himself some potatoes. "Well, one of you would have to go ahead and do it. And somehow I do not trust Fred with this." This time Fred did not feign hurt, but simply smiled proudly in return. When looking to her, she made a point to exaggeratedly roll her eyes.

As George left to get Ginny, Sirius urged everyone on to go ahead and eat before the food would get cold, and so the chatter and clattering of utensils on plates emerged.

Minding her own business and emerging herself in a conversation with Remus and Arthur about historic spells and why they are no longer used, she found herself get distracted by a certain redhead. _"Actually, we no longer use those spells because no one remembers them." _Fred whispered under his breath as he stuffed a spoonful of food into his mouth, contradicting his father when he had said that those spells had only belonged to a selected group of Purebloods.

"_Quite useless, really. From what we did gather, they were simple spells such as getting your shoes laced." _Hermione nodded and smiled at what Remus said, but was ever so grateful for Ginny and George to show up and catch their attentions so that Hermione could focus on Fred. "I'm trying to listen, Fred." Hermione tried to scold, but only got Ron's attention, as he just so happened to lean over to her to grab some more meat.

"What was that?" He asked, taken aback. Hermione politely smiled and shook her head, "I didn't say anything." She claimed, but opposite her Fred was snickering as he clicked his tongue.

"_I wonder how long I could tease you before driving you mad."_ Hermione looked up and saw Fred staring at her, an intensely wicked glimmer in his eyes. This could not be good. "I swear to Merlin, Fred, if you try t-" but Hermione was cut short as now Molly whipped her head to her.

"Did you say something, dear?" Knowing she could not lie again by saying she didn't, Hermione decided to nod and smile and point at the basket next to the woman. "Yes, I was asking if you could perhaps pass me the bread." Hermione lied.

"Oh yes, of course, here you are." Taking the basket of bread – that she was actually not intending to eat – she thanked Molly, and was glad when Arthur grabbed her attention. _"Yes, you were saying?" _

Hermione shot a nasty look his way, but this time he was not looking at her. He was acting as if he was in a conversation with George, who had by long grabbed onto Fred's plan and was eagerly participating, an equally wicked smile on his lips as he let him be used as a cover.

"You're going to expose us," Hermione warned as she pretended to drop her spoon and used her retrieval off the ground as a way to whisper her words.

"_Very clever witch,_" Fred taunted, and at this Hermione stood up to walk to the sink. _"You know, I quite like this. Carrying this great big secret. Feels a bit naughty, doesn't it?"_ Hermione dared a look over her shoulder, and saw Fred's eyes focused on her, a taunting smile on his lips as he wiggled his eyebrows. In the meantime, George was simply trying to cover up his laugh.

Turning back to the sink she turned the water on, allowing the noise to cover up her voice. "You're right, Fred, it's very exciting indeed." Hermione challenged, a light anxious smile spreading on her lips. Two could play a game. Turning the sink off after she finished washing her spoon, she turned back around to find Fred's eyebrows raised in surprise, quickly averting his eyes.

Biting back a grin, she took her seat back at the table. "Are you going to eat those?" Ron asked, pointing at the basket of bread. Hermione shook her head, waving her hand at it. "Go ahead." She encouraged, and he eagerly grabbed the basket.

"You should eat plenty, Hermione." Fred spoke out loud, grabbing the attention of people close by, like Ron, Molly and Ginny. George simply remained silent, clearly enjoying the teasing show.

Knowing that it would only satisfy him more if she would react embarrassed or anxious, she decided to cross him by sugar-coating her smile. "Thank you Fred, I think I will indeed." Hermione said, reaching over Ron's arm and grabbing a piece of toast. "Hey! I thought you said you didn't want any." Ron muffled, his mouth full of bread. "Changed my mind." Hermione said, grinning as she bit into the bread whilst staring at Fred, who was curiously looking at her, his lips turning up into an intrigued smile.

"Okay what is going _on_ between you two?" Ginny interfered, clearly having watched the show, as well as Molly, but she made it more subtle, only shooting glances out of the corner of her eye. "I wouldn't know what you're talking about, Gin." Hermione said sweetly after swallowing a piece of toast.

Grumpily she shook her head, but dropped the matter as George sneakily grabbed a piece of meat off her plate, ensuing more bickering and making Molly raise her voice.

Fred took the opportunity of the commotion to focus back on her, a grin stretched on his lips. "So you do know how to have fun." He said, and Hermione simply shrugged her shoulders at him. "Who ever said that I didn't?"

At this Fred laughed, and Molly raised herself from her seat as she took away dinner and replaced it with desserts. For the remainder of the meal Fred let her drop, continuing a conversation with George as well as with Sirius, talking about pranks and certain joke products.

Hermione was very grateful for the moment of silence, because she wasn't quite sure how much longer she could do with all those curious glances. At times like those she wondered if she shouldn't just tell everyone what was going on with Fred and her. It's not like they would be having an antidote anytime soon, and the secrecy was definitely hard to keep sometimes. Although, like tonight, it did add some spicy tension, in a good way.

Dessert was quicker gone than she would have liked, and before she knew it she was walking into the living room with Ron. Ginny and the twins were put on cleaning duty, and the others were hanging at the dining table, caught up in their conversations.

"Have I ever told you about the origin of Wizarding Chess?" Ron asked, disturbing the silence as he seated himself in a chair and caught a glance of the Wizarding Chess laying on a nearby table. Hermione sighed to herself, plopping herself down on the couch, ready to lose focus as she was certain that Ron would bore her to death with his explanation. It just wasn't really her thing.

In fact, she was so zoned out, that she hadn't noticed that the twins and Ginny were done cleaning, until Fred came to sit down next to her and leaned over to her, his shoulder pressing into his as he went to say something in her ear, but said it loud enough for Ron to hear anyway. "Do you want to hear something a little more interesting?" Fred breathed, and pulled back with a smirk.

Hermione unwillingly chuckled, but was grateful for some relief from Ron's story. Ron, on the other hand, did not find it as funny, but was all too soon distracted as George invited him to play a round of chess.

Just before she could pick up a conversation with Fred, Mrs Weasley came in to hand her a letter, and intrigued, she opened it. Surely, it could only be from one person: Harry. And upon taking a closer look at the handwriting, she knew it was indeed him before even seeing his name.

Propping her legs up, she made herself comfortable on the couch as she opened the letter. Just as she was reading hers, Ron got one as well, though wasn't there to read it as he had gone to the toilet, and the letter now laid forgotten on the table.

It was indeed Harry, telling her about an incident he had with a dementor around his nephew and the letter from Hogwarts that he received saying he would get expelled. He was clearly very worried in the letter.

Looking up once she finished it, she saw Fred looking at her, a frown etching on his forehead as he curiously looked at her. "Bad news?" He asked, but Hermione didn't know what to say. Instead she simply handed him the letter and waited for him to finish reading it.

"Well, they can't just expel him, can they?" Hermione bit her lip, but went to grab a book from under the sofa. "Blimey, d'you carry that thing everywhere you go?" Fred asked, taken by surprise as she retrieved: Hogwarts: A History.

Not giving him an answer, she hastily skimmed through the pages until she found what she was looking for. Expulsion of students. "There," Hermione said, pointing to a crucial sentence in the book.

Fred leaned in closer to see what was written, and Hermione tried hard to not let his breathing on her neck distract her. It didn't happen often that they were this close, his warm body pressing into hers. "If Harry had indeed used magic around his nephew," she cleared her throat as it broke down, "out of self-defence, then there is no way they can expel him."

"Blimey, I wish I could write to him about it. Ease his worries." Hermione said, nibbling on her lip as she stared at the book in her hands.

Hermione could hear Fred smile before she even saw him do it. It was in the way that he would breathe out the smallest amount of air before doing so. "I'm sure he'll be here soon. You can tell him then." Fred assured, then grabbed the book out of her hands and closed it, tossing it to the side so she could no longer obsess over it.

In a way, that was a very gentle gesture. It was as if he was saying not to worry.

Hermione smiled at Fred, not minding the close distance so much right now. "Yeah, I guess you're right." She breathed.


	21. Spilling the beans

**Whispers in the dark**

**Chapter 21: Spilling the beans**

_**A/N: **__I own nothing except my mistakes. __**Also, **__a little author's rant… I just finished writing Year 5 (which is crazy, I know, because all of you just started reading it), and when I started this story I was dreading to write Year 6 soo much, because obviously Fred won't be at school anymore. But lately I came up with so many fun ideas (at least, I think they'll be fun haha), and now I'm so excited! So whilst you all enjoy Year 5 for the time being, I'm going to try and smash Year 6. Anyway, thank you all so much for your support, and please keep on sharing your thoughts with me! _

Hermione groaned as she stretched out her limbs, feeling the end of her bed with her toes as she stretched her arms above her head until they came in contact with the wall behind her. So far she had been at Grimmauld for five days, and her body was already knackered from all the chores that Molly made them do.

"What is going on with you and Fred?" That was the first thing Hermione woke up to, and she had to try really hard to not pretend like she was still sleeping. That witch was too smart to believe in that lie. She also knew that telling Ginny again that there was nothing going on wouldn't help her out. She had told that lie way too many times already.

But what was actually going on between her and Fred?

Turning her head to the side, she saw Ginny laying on her side as well, holding an intense gaze at her, ignoring the piece of hair that was crossed against her face.

"We're just friends, Gin." Hermione sighed, but Ginny did not look convinced. _"Oh blimey, is my little sister interrogating you again?" _She heard Fred ask, but could not answer right now. "Yes, I can very well see that. But how in Merlin's beard did you two become friends?" Ginny insisted, then, on second thought, added: "No offence to either of you, but you two have never really talked. Considering your disagreement with their way of living and all that."

Hermione couldn't help but smile at that. She knew it must be weird for others to see this sudden development. It was true indeed. In all the years of knowing the twins, she had kind of neglected them, simply because she didn't approve of all their pranking. Especially the harmful ones.

Knowing that Ginny was still waiting for an answer, she hoped she could shake off the girl if she simply shrugged. The only thing it did do, however, was earn her an irritated groan as she threw off her blanket, hopped into some slippers and put on her bath robe.

"Fine, if you will not answer me, I'll find my answers elsewhere." Ginny said, and with that she opened the door, being gone out of sight before Hermione could stop her.

Groaning, she slipped into her own slippers as well and hurried downstairs after Ginny, only to find her standing in the living room with her hands on her hips as she stared at the twins. "-wouldn't tell me, you two are going to have to spill the beans yourselves." Was all Hermione heard as she came in.

Fred shot a quick glance at Hermione, but she threateningly shook her head. Yes, she was debating on telling others, but she hadn't made up her mind yet, and nor had she discussed it with Fred. Until then, she refused for anyone else to know.

When Fred and Hermione remained silent, George was the one to speak up, a wicked glimmer in his eyes. "They can hear each other."

Well, if Ginny was expecting an answer, then this surely wasn't one of them. "W-what?" She spluttered, momentarily flabbergasted as she dropped her hands of her hips.

At this Fred slapped George on the back of his head, but George kept him at an arms-distance as he continued his story. "Yeah, last year we failed a prank, got their minds all connected, you know."

"George, I swear to Merlin, if you don't shu-" but Fred was cut short as George clapped a hand over his brothers mouth, escaping his reaching arms by standing up. "They can pretty much hear each other speak wherever they are." And then with a stretched out grin he added, "Quite kinky if you ask me."

Hermione hoped that when George made eye contact with her, he could feel the daggers that she was shooting through them. This was not his secret to spill. "Well, was nice chatting with y'all, but I think I just heard Mom call." And with that he shot out of the living room and escaped to the kitchen, even though they all knew that Mrs Weasley did not just call him out.

"I swear I'll off that little bugger." Fred grumbled under his breath, ready to storm after his twin brother, but Hermione took a sprint to stop him, knowing that this secret was not worth a quarrel between the two brothers. "Leave him," Hermione said, sighing in defeat as she looked at Ginny.

"I- I'm not sure as what to say." She confessed, but she didn't need to, because at that moment Ron came barging in through the living room. "Who the bloody hell is fighting this early in the morning?" He grumbled, his hair disarranged as he clearly just got out of bed.

Nobody said a thing, leaving Ron to take them all in: Ginny supporting herself against the back of the couch, looking curiously at Fred and Hermione. Hermione, on the other hand, was still grabbing onto Fred's arms, and Fred's chest was heaving with unshaken breaths.

"Okay, well, is anyone going to tell me what I missed?" Ron asked in confusion.

It was Ginny who spoke first. "Fred and Hermione just spilled their little secret." At this Fred snapped his head to his sister, "George did, in fact." He corrected her, but she just rolled her eyes in return.

Ron looked even more confused as she said that, but fixed his eyes upon Hermione. "What is she talking about, Hermione? What secret?" Hermione bit her lip, furrowing her eyebrows together in contemplation as she slowly released her grip on Fred.

"Due to a failed experiment of the twins, Fred and I can hear each other speak wherever we are." Hermione explained, although be it quite reluctantly. "It's been a year now." At the latter Ron's eyebrows shot up so far that she was almost convinced that they'd disappear in his hair.

Clearly at loss at words, he spluttered with some failed sentences, but was immediately shut up as Mr Weasley came in through the kitchen door, looking mildly surprised at the silence in the living room, even though it held so many people, but carried on regardless.

"We have a way to get Harry here," Arthur said, then cleared his throat before continuing. "The Dursleys are keeping him locked up, but tonight myself and some others from the Aurors are planning on heading there by broom. Retrieve him and get him safely to Grimmauld."

Nobody said a thing, but Hermione figured it was good to break the silence. "That's great news, Mr Weasley." Arthur nodded as he smiled. "Be good to Molly, _all of you_," He said, making a point of it to look at all of his children.

They each gave a small nod, and with that he left the room.

Wanting to avoid any further awkwardness, she herself made her way to the door. "I'm going to make myself decent." She said, and disappeared from the room before anyone else could say a word.

\- x-

It had been a long day of avoiding all people, but luckily Molly had found a way to keep them separate. She wanted a thorough cleaning of the house before Harry would be coming, and so each of them had been put in separate rooms. Much to Hermione's relieve.

The only time they spoke again was when Hermione entered Ron's and Harry's room, wanting to have a word with Ron before Harry would come and find out as well.

Knocking on the door, she waited until she heard a "Come in" before entering. Looking sheepishly around, she found him hunched over a chair as he tried to clean behind it.

Looking up to see who it was, he quickly diverted his eyes as he saw it was her. "Look, Ron, I'm sorry you had to find out like that." At this Ron scoffed, giving up on the cleaning as he couldn't seem to reach the spot. "That I found out through Ginny, or that I even found out at all?"

Hermione frowned at his anger, but insisted on the conversation anyway. "Surely you can understand why I kept it hidden, can't you?" She asked, and finally got his attention as he threw his cleaning supplies on the ground.

"No, Hermione, I cannot. We're supposed to tell each other everything, aren't we? I thought that was what friends were for." Ron spat, barely able to look at her as his lips curled up in disgust.

Taken aback by his sudden outburst, she had to swallow her uprising anger before she could reply. Surely it wasn't this big of a deal. "I'm sorry that you feel hurt, but I was simply too embarrassed to share this. Besides, we were hoping to fix the problem before anyone even had to find out."

Ron let out a humourless laugh. "And you didn't think that after half a year you at least had to contemplate the fact that it was about time to share it anyway?"

"Don't pretend you and everyone else wouldn't have teased Merlin's beard out of us if we had done so." Hermione said accusingly, and got him to partially shut up. "Yeah, well, whatever."

Hermione huffed in anger, feeling that she did not deserve this kind of a response. Sure, she could understand why he felt hurt that he had been kept in the dark, but be this angry? 

As if sent by the Heavens above, the door opened on just the right time, and there in came Harry, his hair ruffled from the wind. "Harry!" Hermione exclaimed, throwing herself into him without a second thought. She hoped that by expressing her enthusiasm that she could diminish the guilt she felt by having kept so many things hidden from him.

It did not help, however, as Harry began to interrogate them about why they had been shutting them out this Summer. It took a while to explain, but before they could even finish, he began with another question, which was why Ron and her were so tense around them.

Well, Ron was the first to agitatedly spill the beans, and right at that time Fred and George apparated into their rooms, scaring Harry.

"We thought we heard some commotion," Fred said, a grin on his face as he looked in satisfaction at Harry's shocked face. "Could hear it all the way from our rooms," George added, matching his brother's grin.

"Glad to see you two made it up." Hermione said bitterly as she looked accusingly at George. He simply shrugged as he gave her a sheepish grin. "Sorry about spilling your secret, 'Mione. Couldn't help myself."

Hermione faked a smile, but did it so dramatically that he knew it was fake, which made him laugh in turn.

"Right, well, if you two are done fighting, I've got something that will actually be worth listening to." Fred said, holding up some disturbing looking ears hanging onto strings. Harry and Ron exchanged a glance, and with an intrigued look from Hermione, they made their way to the hallway as they dropped it down to the kitchen door.

Well, the fun was over before it began as Crookshanks ate the ears, but they sure did get a bit of an interesting snippet of conversation, leaving Harry more contemplated before he came in.

"Look, I'm sorry my dumb witted brother told the rest without our permission." Fred said when the others had been called down for dinner. Hermione heaved a sigh, leaning against the railing as she looked Fred in the eye, observing how the lines around his mouth seemed to be engraved as if they always carried a smile.

"Oh, it's all right, I guess. They had to find out at some point." Hermione gave in, but then looked rather conflicted as she shot a look at the kitchen door downstairs. "I just hope it doesn't ensue in a big fight with Ron and Harry."

Fred grinned, closing the gap as he clapped a hand on her shoulder. "Surely they can't stay mad if they see how happy we are, can they?" Hermione squinted her eyes at him in curiosity. "What are you hinting at, Weasley?" Hermione taunted, earning her a smirk. "I think it's time to give them a good show again. You know, welcome Harry home." Fred said, and with a laugh he walked down the staircase.


	22. Water ballet

**Whispers in the dark**

**Chapter 22: Water ballet**

_**A/N: **__I own nothing except my mistakes_

Hermione huffed heavily as she poured her soul into scrubbing a piece of very old chewed up food off the hallway floor. Not too far away from her she could hear Fred using the same kind of energy as she did as he scraped the doorways clean.

"Honestly, how much more work can your mother give us? It' been a week of cleaning already." Hermione whined, but Fred remained momentarily silenced, and when she looked up to see what he was doing, she could see him balance a bucket in one hand as he stepped on a stool to bring himself a bit higher to reach the top part of the doorway.

As he pulled out an already drenching cloth from his pocket, he dipped it into the bucket and coughed as a cloud of dust came crashing down when he tracked the door lining. "Bloody hell," he grumbled, aggressively slapping the cloth around the wood in the hopes to clean it faster.

Bringing himself safely to the ground again and releasing the bucket, he turned his head to look at her, only to find her sitting on the floor with a big grin on her face as she watched him in amusement.

"Enjoying the show, are you, Granger?" Fred scolded, but she could hear it in his voice that he meant no aggression with that statement. "Oh, very much so, Weasley." Hermione replied, a big grin stretching on her face.

"You know," Fred began, his voice restrained as he lifted the bucket and poured the dirty water out of the window, "when I said I wanted you to have some more fun in life, I did not mean that you could laugh at me."

Hermione let out a hearty laugh, letting the back of her hand go over her forehead as to get rid of some hair that had fallen into her eyes. At the moment it was tucked up in a very messy ponytail, that by no means could hold all of her hair together.

"To be fair, you never specified." Hermione said, and groaned as she put a hand on the wall to help herself up, hearing her bones cracking loose from having sat in the same position for over an hour.

"Careful, I just cleaned that!" Fred taunted, nodding at the wall that her hand was on. Feeling a devilish smile creeping up on her face, she cocked a challenging eyebrow at him as she watched how he was keeping an eye out for her every move, his hair ruffled and wet from all the times he had gone into it with his dirty hands.

"Oh, you mean this wall?" She teased, letting her hand trail a circle over it as she kept her eye contact with Fred. The latter rose his eyebrows up in surprise, not expecting her teasing.

Fred took a threatening step closer, "I'd be careful with what you're doing, 'Mione." Hermione grinned, but took a cautionary step back, just in case. "Or what, Fred?"

A smirk stretched on his lips, and the minute he heard a door closing upstairs he had closed the gap between them with two big strides, and had now laid a careful hand on her face, scrubbing something on her forehead. "There, all clean now." He said quietly, his breath tickling her face due to the close proximity they were in.

Right at that moment footsteps echoed through the hallway as someone made their way down the stairs, and before Hermione could create some distance between Fred and her, he had encircled an arm around her waist, his eyes glistering deviously.

"Oh, don't let me disturb you, lovebirds. Do go on." Hermione instantly recognized George's voice, and as she turned her head to the side – carefully since Fred was eerily close – she saw how George took big strides down the stairs, looking with a smirk on his face at the both of them, soon followed by Ginny, who shot a very confused look at them instead.

As soon as they had come they had left as well as they were presumably off to a different location to do their chores.

When they were gone Fred had dropped his arm as quick as he had put it there, and let out a great laugh as he looked at her face, which she assumed had a look of sheer terror. She had not known how she had needed to act back then.

"You know, if you want to give Harry and Ron a show, you're going to have to learn how to play your part." Fred grinned, taking a step back as to give her a bit of a breather.

Now that she had some more space to think, she had the chance to process what had just happened.

"Well what part am I playing then?" Hermione spluttered, still a bit flabbergasted. Fred smirked as he looked her over. "Not so cocky now, huh?" He commented, referring to her teasing moment from only a few minutes ago.

Taking the empty bucket in his hand, he nodded to the end of the hallway as an invitation to follow him. Since they were done here they had to move to the kitchen to clean some things up. "Act as if you're deeply in love with me." At this her head snapped to him, and he let out a grin. "Or at least pretend that you fancy me." He shrugged, then on after thought added, "I promise I'll return the favour." At this he winked, and Hermione was convinced that her cheeks were turning all shades of pink, being confirmed by Fred's laugh.

"Can't give a show without players, Hermione." He reminded her before their little conversation died out as they had to go through the living room – where George and Ginny were now busily working on the fireplace – so they could get to the kitchen.

"Take it easy in there, guys. Remember it is still a place to eat." George joked as he caught eyes with them. "Can't make any promises, little brother." Fred joked back, and with that they disappeared inside the kitchen, Hermione trying very hard not to look uncomfortable with the joking.

Fred refilled his bucket with fresh water, and deciding that their conversation was not up for further discussion, she moved herself to the opposite side of the room to go ahead and work on the cabinets as Fred would start on cleaning the floor.

At first the only sound in the room was that of Hermione taking out tableware out of the cabinets as she placed it on the table. A task that went on for at least a good fifteen minutes before the top half of the cabinet had been cleaned out.

She then had to do the bottom half, and now a clanging sound came forth as she had to grab a bunch of pots and pans and find a way for them on the countertop, carefully avoiding the wet spots on the floor that Fred had just cleaned. As well as carefully avoiding Fred entirely. Something that he had taken notice of and found highly amusing as he would purposely come extra close whenever he could.

After the entire cabinet had been cleaned out she could start working on cleaning the inside of it. But before she could do that she had to fill her own bucket with some fresh water, but was stopped in her tracks as Fred put his mop right in front of her feet.

"Sorry, 'Mione, didn't see you there." He said, a cocky smile playing on his lips. Clearly enjoying the entire situation a bit too much.

Hermione forced a smile on her face. "That's all right, Fred. I just wanted to refill my bucket." Hermione said and made way to reach around him to get to the tap, but was once again, stopped in her tracks.

"Here, let me do it." Fred offered, and without giving her a chance to reply he grabbed the bucket out of her hands and found some dry spots to walk over as he filled the bucket with some fresh water.

As he handed the bucket back to her, he made a point of letting their hands brush against each other, purposely waiting with letting it go until she could feel her cheeks heat up and earn her a grin. "Why thank you, Fred."

Fred beamed a laugh as he picked up his mop again, "Of course, 'Mione."

As quick as she could she walked back to her cabinet, letting her cloth drop into the water and made sure to rinse it out properly before she made way for the bottom of the cabinet. Silently she scolded herself for the reaction that she kept on having whenever Fred came in close proximity or had any kind of physical contact with her.

This entire show was meant to tease her friends and his family, not to tease her as well. And yet, right now, Fred was having the time of his life as she became a muppet in their own show.

Scrubbing the insides of the cabinet clean with all her might, she made up her mind that she would not let her embarrassment creep up to her in his presence. She would just act like this was the most normal thing in the world. As if they had been doing what they were doing for all their lives. Only then would she be able to enjoy it as much as Fred was doing right now.

Hermione did not know for how long they had been scrubbing away already, but right as she was putting back the tableware into the cabinet and Fred was working on the last corner of the room near her, the kitchen door opened and George's head popped in.

"You two aren't snogging, are you? It's a bit too quiet in here," and with that Hermione turned her head to Fred's twin brother, watching how he teasingly covered his eyes before he got the green light from Fred. "We were about to, until you came in."

At this George dropped his hands and both brothers had a good laugh. Deciding not to act embarrassed, Hermione simply smiled and rolled her eyes light-heartedly.

Clearly that was all that George had come for, because right as she continued to load in the pots and pans she heard the door shut close again.

Closing the last drawer when she was done, she found Fred leaning against a counter top, the bucket of water sitting next to him as he gazed into nothing, clearly bored out of his mind. All this mandatory work was nothing for an active prankster like himself.

Making her way to the sink, she heaved the bucket so the contents could pour out, but right before they had the chance the bucket was lowered again as Hermione felt a very cold splash coming in contact with her face.

Her mouth dropped open as she turned her head to the culprit, and found Fred grinning as he looked at her, his hand wet and close to the bucket of water next to him.

Contemplating on what to do, she knew that the reasonable thing was to walk away after she scolded him for such behaviour. But at the moment, she really wasn't feeling that option, and thus chose the alternative as she put her own hand in her bucket of water and splashed some of the contents to Fred, who managed to dodge only part of it.

She could see a momentary look of surprise that she went in with the game, but then a look of satisfaction replaced it as he let out a hearty laugh, returning the favour as he created some distance between them, taking the bucket with him and throwing a bit of the contents in her direction.

This time it was her turn to laugh as she failingly tried to dodge it, but it found her hair anyway.

At this a game of water splashing ensued, and she had not known for how long it had gone on, but by the end of it she had gotten an entire bucket of water over her head, drenching all her clothes as he had snuck up behind her.

Fred was doubled over in laughter at her squeal when the cold water touched her skin under her clothes that he was completely caught off guard. Taking this advantage she poured the remainder of the contents over his laughing body, which earned her a squeal in return as his clothes were now tightly wrapped around his body by the wetness.

Both of them couldn't stop laughing, whilst Hermione took a moment to look at the water ballet that was now displayed in the kitchen.

At last the laughter died out when they shot a look on the clock on the wall. "We better clean this up before mom sees." Fred said, a laugh following as he looked at her again.

Hermione hiccoughed from laughing, and all she could do was nod and grab a dry towel. Fred did the same, and within minutes they had dried all surfaces, right on time as Molly entered the kitchen just a minute later.

"What happened to the two of you?" She asked in bewilderment, looking at both of their drenched bodies. At Fred she shot a disapproving glance, but at Hermione she could only look at with sheer curiosity.

"We had a bit of an accident," Hermione laughed, and Fred had to remove himself from the room as he burst out laughing again. "Right well, you two dry yourselves up. Dinner will be ready in half an hour." Molly said, slightly disapprovingly, but still soft-hearted as she always did with anyone that wasn't a family member.

Hermione nodded and left for the living room, only to find the others already sitting there, clearly haven't wasted any time after their chores and were now sprawled out on couches and chairs as they were taking some time to relax. And as per usual, Ron and Harry were playing a game of chess. This time joined by Sirius who was watching the game.

"I see you two had fun," Ron said ominously as he watched her come into the room. Hermione shot a glance at Fred, whose hair was sticking to his forehead, drops of water still trailing down his face. At seeing him she began chuckling again, and shook her head as she made way for the door. "Sure did." Was all she could say before leaving out of sight to get changed, listening to the echo of Fred's laughter as he soon followed her.


	23. Dancing in the moonlight

**Whispers in the dark**

**Chapter 23: Dancing in the moonlight**

_**A/N: **__I own nothing except my mistakes_

It had been three weeks since she had been at Grimmauld Place, and it had been three weeks of insufferable pain and aching in her body. Molly had made a point of it to keep them all at work whilst numerous meetings took place several times a week in the kitchen. All of which none of them got to hear a thing about.

By making them do everything by hand instead of using magic, it kept them busy for much longer, and now as they were nearing the last two weeks of their vacation before school would start again, the house was almost as clean as it could be, and their bodies were more tired out than she could have ever imagined.

It was for that exact reason that she was very thankful to be laying in bed right now, allowing her legs to stretch themselves out and be engulfed by the warmth of her blanket. It was still Summer, even though it was nearing the end of August, so a thin blanket did the job, and yet, feeling something wrapped around her legs was such a comfortable and safe feeling. Like all her muscles got the chance to loosen up through the warmth and get to relax before another hard day at work.

"_Blimey mum, nothing is going on." _Hermione got ripped out of her peaceful reverie as she heard Fred's voice beaming through his ears. She barely gave it any thought any more how odd it actually was to be able to hear him so clear even though he was one floor below her.

Hermione would have liked to ask Fred what was going on – although she had a hunch – but she couldn't. And not because Ginny was sleeping next to her, but because she knew it would be futile. If he and his mother were talking, then it was by no means possible for him to answer her.

And so she waited, staring into the darkness at the ceiling. _"Just because she and I had some fun doesn't mean we're madly in love." _Hermione scrunched her eyebrows ever so slightly together. So he was willing to put on a show for Harry and his siblings, but obviously not for his parents. She could understand that they wouldn't be able to see the joke in it and actually think that what they were doing was serious.

She knew that Ron and Harry were vast asleep already – she could hear Ron's loud snoring coming from a floor above, and she had heard George going up to bed only ten minutes ago when he had accidentally knocked over a stray umbrella on their floor, waking Ginny and earning him a serious scowl from his little sister.

As for the others, they had gone out for some sort of task, besides Sirius, of course. He had already gone to bed way before the younglings had done so. It was clear that he was exhausted – you could see it in his entire demeanour.

The conversation died out soon enough – at least from Fred's side – and so she was left waiting in the dark, listening closely for any kind of footsteps.

It took a while, but eventually she heard soft thudding going past their bedroom door making their way upstairs. Problem is, both Fred and Molly shared the third floor, so she had to listen extra carefully as to where the footsteps were headed.

First she could hear them going to their bathroom, which both of them shared in the middle of the floor. But after that she lost track of where they had gone off too when Ginny suddenly let out a loud snore.

"Fred?"Hermione tried, whispering into the darkness as not to wake Ginny up again. She was convinced that she would have been hexed for it if that happened. _"Yeah?" _He replied, his voice dull, missing the spark it always had. "Are you upstairs?"

"_No, I'm still in the kitchen."_ Hermione didn't move immediately after he said that. Biting her lip, she contemplated whether or not she should just go to sleep instead of going down there to meet him.

At last she decided against better judgement and threw the warm blanket off her body, pulled on some pants – since it was still quite hot at night due to the summer she slept without any on – and then slipped her feet into some slippers.

With that she quietly opened the bedroom door, only a light squeaking sound echoing through the dimly lit hallway.

Trying not to wake up Mrs Black's portrait, she let out a breath once she had made it safe and sound into the living room and with ease made it into the kitchen.

Upon opening the door she could see the back of Fred's head, his feet propped upon the table – she was sure that he had done this only after Molly had left – and his hands behind the back of his head. He looked quite casual, but when she rounded the table and took a seat in front of him, she could see a deep engraved line on his forehead. One could also call it a troubled line.

"I heard you had a lovely chat with your mom," Hermione began in a hushed voice, breaking the complete silence. Only one corner of his lips turned up into what was supposed to be a smile, but his eyes didn't follow.

"Yes, she sure does love to stick her nose into everything," Fred said, though there was some bitterness lingering to it.

Looking him over, she noticed the light tear in his bottom lip, as if he had been constantly chewing on it. Perhaps to ease his troubles. His eyes looked heavy – tired, maybe. The usual cheekiness was very much lacking, although he liked to pretend it was still there.

"Told her we were madly in love," Fred joked half-heartedly, making Hermione smile and shake her head. "Glad the secret is finally out." Hermione joked back, earning her a soft honest chuckle from Fred. This time it did reach his eyes.

Fred released his arms from the back of his head, which immediately brought his chair back to its four legs. At the same time he let his legs dangle off the table, bringing them all the way back down. Instead he folded his arms against his chest and leaned slightly backwards, which made him balance on the two legs of the chair again.

"I like it when you joke." Fred stated simply. Hermione didn't quite know what to say to this, but was rather flattered by the compliment. Or whatever it could be perceived as. "I'm still getting used to doing it," Hermione admitted, letting out a sheepish laugh.

Fred grinned, it only partly reaching his eyes. "Mark my words, by the end of it you'll have joined the legendary pranksters."

Hermione cocked a curious eyebrow at him, mimicking his physical stance as she, too, crossed her arms and balanced her chair on two legs. "By the end of what?"

He took a moment to reply, watching as she made herself comfortable in the new position. Looking at the clock on the wall, she could see that it was already nearing well past twelve.

"You know, when the day comes when we no longer hear each other's voices constantly." Fred explained, shrugging his shoulders as to lift the weight off the words.

At this her eyebrows furrowed further together, biting her lip intensely as she averted her eyes to the table. Letting her chair come back to four legs, she let her hands fall on the table as she intertwined them.

"Would you like this to be over?" It took her a good few minutes until she was able to let those words slip off her lips. And when they did, they didn't come out even louder than a whisper, and yet he heard every single one of them. Of course he did, he heard everything.

Fred remained silent. He too, took a good few minutes to think, and yet, he still didn't say anything.

Looking back up to look him in the eye, she watched as a range of emotions flashed over his face. Yet, when he caught her looking, he wiped them all clean and let an easy smile rest on his lips. It still didn't reach his eyes.

"Would you?" Hermione let out a humourless laugh, it coming out as a loud breathe. Boys and emotions. Always dodging a question by answering it with another questioning.

Shaking her head, she opened and closed her mouth to figure out as what to say to that. She would occasionally avert her eyes and bring them back, and all the while he just kept looking at her, patiently waiting.

At last she shrugged, letting out a long, heavy exhale.

To be quite honest, she had grown so accustomed to what they had – after all, it had been a year since the product had malfunctioned – and in a way, it brought her comfort. Though it was weird in the beginning to know that someone was always listening in on your every breath and every word, it now felt very safe.

At any given moment when she felt saddened, frightened or happy – he would be there. Because he had heard it all. Most times, she wouldn't have to explain anything, because he knew already. And not even because she always necessarily said anything, but even at times when she didn't say anything at all. Just with the way she would breathe he could tell almost instantly what she was thinking or feeling.

Just like she could do with him. As for right now, for example, he outwardly seemed very chill. He was still casually leaning back, although he had shielded himself ever so slightly with his crossed arms. His face was neutral, not a hint of emotion or conflict.

And yet, she knew he wasn't a hundred percent himself. And perhaps it was the late hour, because he would not often show her this side of him, or even at all. But she could hear it in his breathing – how it haltered, how it stopped and how it sped up, sometimes even all at once.

To her, it felt good to know that there was always someone there who would be able to understand without you needing to explain. It felt safe to know that she could reach out to someone at any place and any time, because they would hear and they would care.

"No." She had to say it quickly, because she wasn't sure if she was ready to be this honest even with herself, let alone with him. "I wouldn't." She added a bit slower, afraid he hadn't heard her when he didn't reply.

When she said this she had been desperately trying to avoid his eyes, but now willed herself to look at him. "Would you?" Hermione countered once again, and watched as he brought his chair back to all legs, his elbows propping onto the table as he brought his hands up to his face, giving it a rub before looking back at her.

"No." Was all he said. And that was all that was needed to be said. They understood the reasoning, without needing words.

She could even hear her own breath picking up its normal rhythm again, only now realising that it had haltered, and she could hear his, too, ease back into familiarity.

"So, what's bothering you?" Hermione asked, glad to have a bit of a change of subject. Even though the previous twenty minutes – yes, that encounter had truly lasted that long. She had kept her eyes glued at the clock for most of the time – had not been filled with many words, it had still felt heavy. Dare she say, even intimate.

Which, on second thought, wasn't so weird, of course. They had something intimate – Merlin, they could hear each other all the time. If that wasn't intimate, she didn't know what else was.

Fred gave her a genuine smile, this one reaching his eyes. "Who said anything was troubling me?" He challenged, and she returned him the smile all-knowingly. "Me."

He let out a soft chuckle and shook his head as he dropped back on two legs of the chair again.

It took him a while to answer that question. So long, in fact, that she considered going back upstairs and call it a day. After all, it was now almost nearing one in the morning. And they both knew they would be called awake for breakfast at eight by Molly.

But right before she could push her chair backwards to stand up he began to speak. "It's no secret George and I want to go into a different direction than what is desired of us." Fred said, referring to his mother's wishes of them getting a good degree and making something for themselves in a good profession.

Hermione nodded, as to say that she understood what he meant. At this Fred began biting his bottom lip again, the light tear opening up a bit and releasing some blood that was soon licked away again.

"I'm a bit worried how Mum will take it." He admitted, and left it at that.

Hermione contemplated what he said. Sure, Molly wished the best for her children, and she also knew that Molly preferred it that they found their passion elsewhere besides jokes and pranks. But Hermione was convinced that Molly already knew deep inside that that wouldn't happen. It just wasn't in the twins' nature. Their means of life laid somewhere else.

"She'll be disappointed," Hermione stated, but made sure to put more weight on her next words. "But she would understand. She knows what you and George are like, Fred. You two are born pranksters, like it or not." At this Hermione smiled, more to herself than to Fred. "You know how to make people laugh, how to make them feel good. And if there is one thing that Molly values more than a good chance at life, it is that act of kindness to be able to be good to other people as well."

Fred smiled, both lips tugging upright and reaching his eyes, and yet, he couldn't hold it for long as the troubled line returned ever so slightly. "I hope you're right."

Hermione nibbled on her lip, glancing around the room.

Right in the corner of the room she spotted an old and worn down radio, but she was willing to bet her chances with it. Pushing her chair back, she made her way to the dark corner of the room, practically feeling Fred's eyes staring in her back.

She tweaked around with it for a bit, still keeping her back to him so he could not see what she was doing, and then when having turned the volume down so it would just be a low sound that would remain between these four walls, she turned around again when she found a radio station with music, finding it on her second twirl.

At this Fred's eyes shot up as he watched in amusement as she put the radio down in the middle of the table.

Stretching her hand out to him, she put a gentle smile on her face as she asked: "Care for a dance?"

Fred grinned, taking a look at the moonlight that was creeping through the window. "How romantic, Granger. A dance in the moonlight?"

Rolling her eyes, she hoisted him up when he had grabbed her hand. She wasn't quite sure whether she should go for it, but then imagined herself back at the Yule Ball, and tried to get the same confidence as she did back then.

Unfortunately for her, this was quite a slow song. Nothing too romantic, just very melodramatic. At least not what she had hoped to find. She wanted some funk in the house, but it seemed like she would have to wait.

Deciding to just go for it, she made him put his arms around her waist as she wrapped hers around his neck, making sure to not close the distance and keep some personal space – for however well that was possible whilst encircling each other with their arms.

Fred was clearly caught off guard, but eased up as soon as Hermione began to speak. "Is this okay?"

Looking up at his face – being in such close proximity he was suddenly a lot taller than she was, so she had to crank her neck a little to look him in the eye – she saw a wide smirk stretched out on his lips. There she found some familiar cheekiness in his face.

"If I didn't know better, I would say you're hitting on me, Granger." Hermione groaned, but let out a chuckle anyway. Loosening her right hand from his neck, she lightly slapped it against his chest as she shook her head, bringing it back to around his neck afterwards. "Oh shut it, Weasley."

At this he let out a hearty laugh, tuning out the music and she almost feared that it would wake up Mrs Black and therefore the entire house, but luckily it remained quiet.

They swayed gently to the music, still keeping their distance and yet not too far to make it awkward. He even once in a while gave her a twirl, making them both laugh.

At last a more funky song came on, and at this they let go of each other and simply started to move. Fred went all out for it, laughing as he made the weirdest of movements with such confidence that it didn't nearly look half bad.

Hermione, who would normally be more reserved and held back, went for it as well this time. Perhaps it was because it was now nearing two in the morning, and she was heavily sleep deprived – she had woken up at six in the morning yesterday – but right now she couldn't care less about how she looked.

All she cared about was the laughter beaming in her ears from both her and Fred, the glistering finally having reached back in his eyes.


	24. Late riser

**Whispers in the dark**

**Chapter 24: Late riser **

_**A/N: **__I own nothing except my mistakes_

"Well look what we've got here," George beamed as soon as Hermione came through the kitchen door. "If that isn't the second late riser." He continued to tease, and Hermione dared a quick glance at the kitchen clock. It was half past ten in the morning.

Letting her eyes travel to George, she soon found herself looking at Fred, who was watching her as she stopped in her tracks, a quirky smile on his lips, licking them as he looked away with a smile that looked like he was trying to hide something forbidden.

Pretending like she didn't see that, she took a seat opposite of the twins and grabbed some bread that had been left on the table. "Where are Harry and Ron?" Hermione asked, this time looking to her side as she watched the little red haired witch, who was violently stabbing a piece of toast until it was cut.

"Off to play a game, I s'pose," Ginny said, her voice coming out in huffs, followed by a loud clinging sound as her knife finally made contact with the plate. "Had a good late night stroll?" Ginny asked, averting her eyes as she looked at her toast. Although she carried a taunting smile just the same.

Hermione puffed out her chest, feeling the burning stares from the twins opposite her. "Actually, I did, thank you." Hermione answered, earning her an immediate side-glance from Ginny, who raised her eyebrows at her. "At one point I began to wonder if you had gotten lost." She pressed, but Hermione wasn't going to step back down. She would play the game.

"I would have if Fred had not been so kind as to find me," Hermione smiled innocently, taking her eyes off Ginny and pointing them to the twins. George was watching the entire thing with a wicked smile on his face, and Fred simply watched in amusement.

"That is me, kind-hearted Fred." He confirmed, but his twin brother scoffed as he laughed. "Right, you sure that you didn't abuse that kindness, my dear brother?"

Fred tutted at George, took a sip of his juice, and then shook his head. "I like to consider myself quite chivalrous if you'd like." At that Ginny choked on her own juice as she spluttered out her next words. "Right, and I am the queen herself."

Hermione chuckled as she continued eating her toast, quietly watching as the siblings got into a heatedly teasing discussion about who was the most chivalrous.

"Good morning to you both," A voice boomed behind her, and as she turned around she could see Mrs Weasley coming their way. At this the chatter between the siblings died out, and when Molly had approached the table she handed both her and Fred a letter.

"They came in this morning, the rest have already gotten them." Molly said, then put the kettle on the stove after filling it with some water.

Both Hermione and Fred were busy opening the envelope, but were stopped midway when Molly continued to speak. "I let you both sleep in because it's the last day before school, but I do expect an early riser tomorrow morning."

At that she looked between Fred and Hermione, an intrigued look glistering behind her eyes, though she was quick to push that away. "Now open up," she urged, and they did just that.

Hermione was quick to skim through the letter, and found herself in delight after reading that she had been made prefect. "Any news, dear?" Molly asked, watching Hermione who carried a broad smile on her face.

Reading the part aloud where it informed her that she had been made prefect, Molly ended with a kind laugh as she clapped her hands together. "That is wonderful, dear! Ron had received a letter same as yours."

"Ron has been made prefect?" Fred asked stupefied. "Yes, I am so proud to the both of you." Molly said to Hermione, completely ignoring the twins for the latter. Earning her some remarks from the twins in a hushed whisper that Hermione was very glad about that only she could hear.

"Hang on a second," Fred began as their mother left the room once more. George shot a curious look at his brother, wondering what it is he was going to say. "If you are made Prefect, Hermione.."

At this George immediately caught on to what he was going at, and jumped in with: "You aren't going to be on our skin, are you?" He easily finished for Fred.

At this Hermione let a smile play on her lips, making a face that looked like she was seriously pondering this, enjoying the light worry on the twins' faces. "I'll do whatever I have to do to keep order in the school, boys." Hermione told them, a wicked grin on her faces that neither of the boys could carry.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be off to find Ron." She innocently said as she picked up her plate and dropped it in the sink. The utensils – which where bewitched – immediately began to scrub it all clean and tucked themselves away back in the cabinets.

Leaving some grumblings twins behind her in the kitchen she walked into the living room – _"I'll get her to change her mind," _– and spotted Harry and Ron indeed hunched over a game in the corner of the room. "No, you won't," Hermione replied to Fred, not bothering to lower her voice as her friends already knew about their bond.

Yet, they both looked up in surprise as they watched her moving her way to them. "Who are you talking to?" Ron asked in confusion, then shook his head as it dawned on him. "Right, my _dear _brother." He confirmed, a bit bitterly.

Knowing it was fruitless to get into an argument about this, and also a major waste of her time, she decided to not go into his bitterness and instead came to talk about what she came there to talk about.

"I heard you've been made Prefect as well, Ron," Hermione said, watching as Harry's knight was violently knocked off the board after Ron gave his queen the orders. "Yeah," he absent-mindedly replied, but that wasn't good enough for Hermione.

"Aren't you the least bit excited?" She pressed, and felt herself growing a bit annoyed by their lack of attention. Usually when they played chess they would at least try to hold some sort of active conversation with her. Or at least acknowledge her presence.

Right now, however, she didn't even get a simple side glance. "Oh, it's all right," Ron mumbled.

Biting her lip, she wondered if she should bother to stay and hold a conversation with her friends if they didn't intend to do the same. However, with all that had been going on with her and Fred last year, she had noticed the toll it had taken on their friendship, and she really did not want to lose them further. Especially because it was such a minor thing. After all, Ron and Fred were bloody family.

"Do you like him?" Hermione had almost not heard this question as she had been occupied with her own thoughts, but the snapping of Harry's head at Hermione when Ron asked the question had brought her back to her senses just in time to process the question.

Momentarily at loss for words, she furrowed her eyebrows together as she watched as Ron made a point of it to not look at her at all costs.

"Why do you care?" Was all Hermione could say, wanting to buy herself some time before she knew she inevitably had to answer it.

"Do you like him?" Ron asked once more, a bit of an urgency clinging to it. She noticed how he made quite a sloppy move on the chessboard, losing his chance at winning. She figured he was trying to buy himself some time before he had to look at her. "I saw you two the other night, you know." He added in a hushed voice.

Letting out a sigh, she glanced around the empty room that had begun to feel like home already after all these weeks spent in it.

What was she going to tell Ron? Did she even know herself? What Fred and her shared last night had only brought herself in confusion, so what was she supposed to say right now? Besides, it didn't feel very comfortable to truthfully speak her mind right now knowing that Fred was listening in. It's not like she didn't want him to know, but if she were to talk about it, she'd prefer doing it with him first before with anyone else.

Then again, they also had this 'façade' going on where they were putting on a show. Was she going to sabotage that in order to maintain friendship with her friends? But what if the façade they were putting up had not been fake. What if they had actually liked each other? Why would that matter for her friendship with Ron and Harry?

She knew she couldn't tell the whole truth. Especially because she did like to put on that little show that Fred and her did. It gave her a daily reason to smile, all by the means as Fred would put it 'a harmless joke.'

"There is no denying that Fred and I have grown a bit closer, yes," Hermione began to answer, but was cut short with a muffled "That wasn't what I asked".

"_Don't spoil the fun now, 'Mione," _She heard Fred say, but knew better than to reply to him right now. She had a feeling that Ron would lose his mind if she did that. So, instead she simply focused on her friends at hand again.

"Truth is, Ron," Hermione said, and she could hear Fred presumably saying to George _"She's going to ruin it, I'm tellin' ya,", _"I don't know what I feel."

Ron scoffed and let out a humourless laugh. "I thought you were the brightest witch of your age who knew everything." Hermione pursed her lips together at this, not understanding where all this anger was coming from.

She shot a desperate look at Harry – who had thus far not even said a word to either her or Ron since she had gotten into the room – but he simply shrugged his shoulder as he focused back on the game. So much for his help, thanks Harry.

"I don't know what has gotten into you, Ronald," Hermione said, and heard her voice shaking a bit. "But you need to sort out your priorities." And with that she stood up and left the room, along with a seething redhaired boy.


	25. Leap of faith

**Whispers in the dark**

**Chapter 25: Leap of faith**

_**A/N: **__I own nothing except my mistakes. __**Also, **__a little time jump back to Hogwarts_

Hermione was thoroughly enjoying her dinner, mainly because Fred and George had Quidditch try-outs and they were, for once, quiet for a while, so she could eat her dinner in peace whilst getting a chance to chat up with Neville.

That peace, however, was quickly ruined when halfway through dinner the boys came barging in again, their hair wet from just having taken a shower. George easily slipped on the bench between Angelina and Jordan, but Fred kept on strutting until he arrived at her spot, squeezing himself in between her and some third year, even though there really wasn't any room at all.

"How very nice of you to join me, Fred," Hermione spoke sarcastically, purposely not looking at him. She didn't need to, though. She knew he was smirking. "What can I say, I just wanted to share you that my dear brother and I made it onto the team this year around again."

Hermione had to bite back from smiling, quite enjoying it whenever she teased him. "How very delightful indeed," she said, trying very hard to sound unimpressed and not interested.

"You know," Fred spoke, and as he reached past her plate to grab some bread out of the basket on the left of her for his soup, he made a point of it to press his entire body into her, his face just inches away from hers as he turned it slightly to shoot her a grin. "I figured you'd be a little bit more excited to see your favourite person join the team again."

Fred lingered a bit longer, and Hermione had to try really hard to act natural, as if she didn't mind at all, very aware of several eyes on her. By now most of them had gotten used to the interaction between her and the twins, but not so much yet to this renewed physical contact. "You're right, Fred. I couldn't be more proud indeed," Hermione said sweetly, to which he shot her a cheeky grin before pulling back and casually buttering his bread.

"So where have our Sour Queen and Harry gone to, anyway?" Fred asked, dipping his bread into the soup and making a humming sound in approval, clearly liking the taste of it. "Harry is in detention with Umbridge," Hermione spoke bitterly, then added: "And _Ron _left as soon as I arrived for dinner," and at the latter she rolled her eyes.

Fred shot a sideway glance, a curious look on his face as he looked her over before propping a lopsided smile. "Umbridge, real nice woman, isn't she?" He asked before attending to his food again. Hermione snorted in disagreement, earning her a laugh from George. Clearly the sound had travelled far enough for him to hear. "Real charming, 'Mione," he spoke with a grin, to which Hermione merely squinted her eyes.

"Stop harassing my lady, George," Fred joked as he called back to George, having to lean back to spot his brother. "Wouldn't dare touch her, Freddie," George called back, shooting him a fat wink.

Feeling the burning of stares on her now, she almost had the tendency to scowl at those prying eyes of first and second years. Honestly, why was everyone always up in someone's business.

"It is utterly outrageous what that woman does, Fred," Hermione growled, gripping onto her spoon a bit tighter. She had long finished her dinner, but the minute Umbridge was discussed she had subconsciously reached for it. Perhaps she hoped that by crushing the spoon she could crush that woman as well.

"Why's that?" He prompted, then tried to catch Seamus' attention. "Oi, d'you mind passing me that rice?" He got his attention all right, or well, as much as was necessary as he passed it to Fred without barely giving him a glance, continuing in a heavy debate that he was having with Dean and Neville. "Thanks, mate," Fred said, then focused his attention back on her.

"She's a nightmare, honestly," Hermione began. "Insists on teaching us everything out of the book instead of putting it into practice," she went on, explaining the situation. Not that she had to, because Fred had classes from her too, but still. It helped her feel a little better if she could rant it all out. "Truly, how are we supposed to learn how to survive if we can't bloody learn how to defend ourselves? It's absolutely outrageous."

Fred turned to look at her and she willed herself to not look as mad as she was feeling. It wasn't anything personal to him, that woman just riled her up too much. He looked like he was about to say something very meaningful, and she bated her breath as to what he had to say. Truth is, her hopes were a little too far up.

"You can say many things about that woman, but at least she knows how to rock the colour pink." Fred spoke, earning him a scowl and a beating to his arm from her spoon.

A bit further down the table she heard some laughter erupt, and saw Fred lean back again as he sought contact with his twin brother. "Nice one, Freddie," George laughed and this time it was Fred's turn to wink at him.

"This isn't funny, Fred!" Hermione exclaimed, but Fred just laughed harder, though took a precautionary scooting to the right to get away from her a little bit, before he would be hit again. "You're right, Hermione, not funny at all." He said, but then broke out laughing again.

Biting her lip, she merely stared at him as he served himself some rice that Seamus had passed him earlier on, and took a big bite out of it, casually enjoying his dinner. "I could get you in trouble for insulting a Prefect, you know," Hermione spoke calmly as she averted her eyes, taking a bit of bread and taking a bite out of it.

She wasn't hungry anymore, though. It was simply to not burst out laughing as Fred's head whipped at her, riddled in surprise before he popped a lopsided smirk. "Oh yeah, is that so?" He challenged, and Hermione took her sweet time to swallow that piece of bread before replying, allowing herself to stay calm.

"Yeah, that's right," Hermione stated, but Fred wasn't intimidated in the slightest. In fact, he was enjoying this very much so as a devilish grin appeared on his lips. "What a pity that would be, Hermione," he spoke, scooting back to her as he leaned closer, nearly whispering under his breath, but loud enough for others to hear, "if it turned out I would insult the brightest witch of our age."

Darn him. Her comment was supposed to put him on the spot, but he had so easily turned it back around.

"Y'know," Fred began, a taunting hint clinging to his words. Hermione embraced for the worst, she knew that she had awoken something in Fred now. "If you wanted me alone, you could have just said so." Fred smirked, then took the last spoonful of his rice, finishing his dinner.

Hermione spluttered, not really knowing what to say to that. At the same time, she was very grateful that Ginny, nor Ron or Harry were here to hear their little conversation. Merlin knows what they were meant to think about this. It was bad enough with other Gryffindors – and some Hufflepuffs – listening in.

At her being in loss for words he let out a hearty chuckle before standing up.

Thinking he was about to leave for his brother or even leave the Great Hall completely she almost let out a sigh of relief, until she felt two hands resting themselves on her shoulders, giving it a light squeeze.

Before she had any chance to process what was going on she had to refrain herself from jumping in shock as Fred leaned down so his head was now next to hers as he stood behind her. "C'mon then, I'll grant you your wishes."

Knowing it was best to leave as she felt herself becoming very red indeed, and they still had a show to put on, she opted for a sweet smile as she hurried out of her seat. She almost began to feel giddy because of all this silliness, until she saw Ron coming into the Great Hall, having been halted in his steps as he clearly had been watching the ordeal between her and Fred.

As soon as she laid eyes on him he turned back around on his heel and disappeared as soon as he had come in.

Feeling a light pressure against her back two hands made their way to rest on each of her arms as his voice whispered under his breath – only for her to hear – "don't mind him," and felt a gentle squeeze as he pushed her forward a bit, indicating that she should go ahead and walk.

Wordlessly following his hint, they left out of the Great Hall, Fred giving her back some personal space as they were out of eyesight. "I honestly don't understand what has gotten into him," Hermione sighed, leaning against one of the walls, not really feeling like walking back to the Gryffindor common room yet, being certain that Ron would be there.

Fred joined her in her desperation, propping a foot to the wall as he casually stared out in front of him. "I'm just saying, it's not any of his business what I do." She defended, then let out a breath. "I mean, for all we care we decide to go ahead and start snogging here. What is it to him, huh?" Hermione prompted, shaking her head in annoyance. If only she knew why Ron made such a deal out of it.

At that Fred snapped his head to her, an amused smirk playing on his lips as a mischievous twinkle reached his eyes. "Is that an invitation, Hermione?" He teased, to which Hermione realised what kind of example she had used and felt her cheeks redden.

Fred let out a laugh as he simply pushed himself away from the wall with his foot. "Y'know what I think?" He asked, and stretched out his hand to her.

Hermione was hesitant to take it, but decided against better judgement regardless, taking a grip on his hand and letting him pull her away from the wall. "I think you should start caring less about my dear brother." And at this he dragged her along with him, still holding onto her hand as they almost made a run for the stairs.

She didn't understand why they were running, until the stairs began to move a bit. Nonetheless, he didn't slow down. In fact, he made them speed up. "And start caring more about having a bit of fun." Was all he said before they made a last sprint for it, him dragging her along with him as they made a jump to get from the moving staircase to the platform that was almost out of reach, landing on it just in time before the staircase had completely turned to the other side.

For a moment Hermione was in complete shock of what they just did, but then felt the adrenaline kick in and let out a bubbling laugh in amazement of what they had just done. Willingly letting him drag her around staircases and corridors, twirling her around sometimes just to get a laugh out of her as they made their way to the Gryffindor tower, him purposely taking some detours to catch her off-guard.

Perhaps he had been right after all. She could do with a bit more laughter than books sometimes. Or jealous friends for that matter. Sometimes it was indeed better to not think so much, but to just be, and have fun with that.


	26. Foamy fun

**Whispers in the dark**

**Chapter 26: Foamy fun**

_**A/N: **__I own nothing except my mistakes. __**Also, **__I just wanted to take a quick moment to thank you all so much for your love and support for this story, and I hope you'll continue to have as much fun reading the upcoming chapters as I do writing them. Today's chapter isn't as thrilling as my others, but I needed a bit of a bridge towards my other chapters, hence why this one's in here. Hope you don't mind too much, and I look forward to seeing you all next chapter! :)_

Hermione was the first one to tap her wand to two identical cards that were sprawled out on a table. Right as she did they exploded, and Hermione had to shield her eyes from pieces flying into it, letting out a laugh as she did so.

Luckily for her Ron had settled down a great deal over the past few weeks as she had ignored him for a while. This seemed to have done the trick to let him reflect on his behaviour, and he had even apologized for it. Well, sort of. It was more of a murmur than actual words, but it was good enough. She was more than happy to have her friend back in the first place.

Currently they were in the Gryffindor common room, having played a game of Exploding Snaps for the past half an hour, almost finishing the game as only a few cards remained.

As soon as the cards turned around again, Ron was quick to tap two of them, but unfortunately not the right ones and the explosion was even bigger, the card directing up to Ron's face, scorching half of his eyebrow.

Both Hermione and Harry burst out laughing at the sight of it, one eyebrow hair still on fire as Ron sulked away, though was quick to join in their laughter as he caught sight of his reflection in the window.

"Y'know Harry," Hermione started as the game of exploding snaps had ended, Harry having been the one to have won the game. No wonder, his reflexes were, after all, the fastest of the three of them.

"I really do stand by what I said earlier. I think we could use someone like you to teach us how to defend ourselves," she said, curling up her legs in the chair. "I'm not qualified to teach anyone, 'Mione," Harry defended, but Hermione immediately shot him down. "Nonsense, Harry, you're more qualified than our current teacher could ever be."

Yet, Harry was still not convinced. "Who would want to come anyway?" He mumbled, so Hermione cocked an eyebrow at him. "I can already think of two people," she said.

"Oh yeah, who then?" Ron piped in, stretching his legs so he occupied the entire couch. "Fred and George would be happy to join your classes," well, she hadn't exactly discussed it yet, but even if they wouldn't, she'd make them.

"_Would we?"_ Fred immediately asked her. He was currently not in the common room, and she did not dare ask him whether he was out past curfew right now. "Yes, you would." Hermione openly spoke.

Harry and Ron looked up in her in surprise, then realised she was talking to Fred and let their expression drop, though Harry grinned a bit. "Honestly Harry, don't knock it till you tried it. Let's spread the word around with people we trust, and see if they're into it."

Harry, who was sitting on the ground with his back leaning into the couch, still refused to give in. _"George and I could help spread the message," _Fred agreed, _"Join little Harry's classes, brother," _he added, presumably speaking to George. "That would be great, thanks," Hermione agreed, and at this Harry snapped his head towards her, squinting his eyes.

"You already made the deal, haven't you?" Harry asked accusingly. Hermione smiled sheepishly, but then put herself together again. "We need to learn how to defend ourselves, Harry. I know you can do it, you just have to try."

Though Harry did not look enthusiastic about the idea, he did agree to it in the end.

-x-

They had all assembled at Hog's Head, a rather grim place, but perfect to not get noticed by any students that they did not trust.

Fred and George had done a great deal of spreading the message, as half of the people were here thanks to them, having needed a second pair of mouths to convince them that it would be worth getting into potential trouble if they were to be caught.

Ron, Harry and Hermione had taken place in front of the group, representing their new idea, though Hermione did feel slightly uncomfortable. Being in the spotlight like this wasn't exactly one of her favourite things to do.

Fred, noticing her awkwardness as she rose up to speak, gave her a gentle smile as encouragement, so she cleared her throat and dared the leap.

"You all know why we're here," Hermione began, hearing how rather soft her voice sounded, and so she decided to speak up a little louder, looking into all of the expectant faces. "We need a teacher," she said, then clarified, "a proper teacher."

Looking to Harry, who had a bit of trouble with all the burning eyes, looked anywhere but at people in the room. "Harry here has had real experience with Defence Against the Dark Arts, something we're all going to need."

At this a student asked why, not believing Harry's word that Voldemort had returned, but Hermione countered that Dumbledore claimed this as well. Usually that was enough to convince people, but not this time. "So where's the proof then?"

Another student piped in, asking for an explanation about Cedric's death, and at this Harry rose up to. "I'm not going to talk about Cedric so if that's why you here I suggest you leave," then turned to Hermione. "C'mon Hermione, let's go," he said in desperation, having already given up on the situation.

"Is it true you can produce a Patronus charm?" Luna interrupted, and Hermione had never before been so grateful for her existence. This very question could help convince others to join them. "Yes!" Hermione immediately said, knowing that Harry would not plan on boasting himself. "I've seen him do it."

At this Dean voiced his admiration, and Neville jumped in with another heroic story about him killing a Basilisk. Ron talked about the dementors, and Hermione confirmed that he really did fight off Voldemort last year.

"Look, it all sounds great if you say it like that, but I've just had a bunch of luck," Harry piped in, and Hermione wished he hadn't. This was not the way to convince people.

But then he began to explain what it felt like to live through those experiences, and the room fell silent, and people were now listening attentively. "You're right, Harry, we don't. That's why we need you to teach us," Hermione said, and many more students were clearly convinced.

Setting up a table and sprawling out a parchment and a quill with some ink, she told people that they were free to sign up if they wanted to join his classes. Fred was one of the first to rise up and sign, giving Hermione a playful wink.

At his example more students followed, until they all lined up to sign. As they had all finished she explained to them how they were going to meet, and asked if any of them had a bit of a good idea for a location.

Neville offered one, saying he got lost once in search of a toilet and ended up at the Room of Requirement, to which Hermione immediately mumbled under her breath, "of course, why didn't I think of that?" and saw Fred grin out of the corner of her eye, knowing he was the only one to have heard that.

With that they agreed to meet up there, and she passed them all a coin that would give the inscriptions of when to meet.

After all the information had been passed out they all left in pairs, leaving the twins to join her, Ron and Harry for a drink in the Leaky Cauldron.

"That was a nice speech you two gave," Fred said as their drinks arrived. "Yeah, real touching indeed," George spoke up with a bit of teasing grin on his face. "Though I must say I missed your group effort Ronnie," Fred added, to which George let out a laugh.

"Y'know, an endearing word or two," George said.

"- or an act of rebellion if you'd like." Fred finished.

Hermione rolled her eyes at the two of them. "At least he was man enough to sit up front with us," Hermione defended, though the twins grins only turned wider. "Yeah, so were you clearly with that dashing moustache of yours." Fred laughed and at this George took a big gulp of his drink, dipping his mouth into the goblet and coming out of it with a foam moustache.

Realizing what they were referring to, she almost feared that they had put something in her drink to give her a moustache, especially when all the boys at the table let out a hearty laugh as Hermione reached up in horror to feel that there indeed was a thick layer of foam resting above her lips. Luckily, though, it was only from her drink.

Quickly wiping it away, she soon joined their laughter as she shook her head. At least a foam moustache was better than a real one.


	27. Signature spell

**Whispers in the dark**

**Chapter 27: Signature spell**

_**A/N: **__I own nothing except my mistakes_

"Thank you all for coming," Harry said, though stuttered slightly through his words, staring back at a group full of students who were expectantly looking at him.

This was their very first meeting of their newly formed group called Dumbledore's Army. Though she knew Harry was nervous, and had been reluctant at first, she had talked to him about it and after seeing everyone's enthusiasm about the idea a couple days back in Hog's Head he had come around and had become enthusiastic himself as well.

"Today I would like to start with a simple charm that has come in handy for me personally many times," he went on when no one had yet replied. Clearing his throat, he looked around awkwardly as still no one made a sound.

"Right, so I'll be teaching you the Disarming Charm, and we're going to have to work in pairs for this," he said, and still no one moved.

Unable to bear the awkwardness, Hermione decided to walk up to Ginny and asked her as a partner. This seemed to get everyone else moving, and Harry shot her a grateful smile before turning his attention on the rest as they had now all formed their pairs.

"It's a rather simple charm, yet highly effective if used well." He explained, this time a bit more confident now that most of the staring eyes were off him. "All you need to do is draw a tight spiral into the air with your wand, like this," Harry instructed, then showed them all the wrist movement that he was talking about.

Several students copied the movement, and Harry nodded encouragingly at them in return. "After you've got a hang of that, all you need to do is combine it with the spell 'Expelliarmus', and you'll gain yourself another wand," Harry lightly joked, and got several laughs out of him in return.

"Well, off you go," he said, and at this murmurs broke loose, before they turned into loud voices. "Ready?" Hermione asked Ginny, who nodded in return, taking a firm stance as to brace herself.

"I'll go first," Hermione announced, and copied Harry's instructions perfectly as she was able to disarm Ginny, grabbing for the wand that had flown into the air. "Really nice," Harry said to her as he walked past.

Shooting a sheepish smile at him, she handed Ginny back her wand.

At this they all kept practising for a while, Ginny having needed only two tries before she could get it. "Right, I think you all get the hang of it," Harry interrupted after a good half an hour of practising.

"I think it would be nice to have a bit of a duel with it," Harry proposed, and then explained his idea. The gist was to let two people duel, and the winner would keep their place as the loser was replaced by another. This would be done until they all had their turns.

Neville and Seamus were to go first, and surprisingly to many, Neville had won the round, and Seamus was the first to go. Ginny was now set up to Neville, but easily won from him, knocking him slightly backwards.

"_Dangerous little witch she is," _she heard Fred say, and turned her head to the boy next to her. He had been leaning into George's ear as he had said it, and yet she had perfectly heard him. "I would watch out if I were you," Hermione playfully warned them, loud enough for George to hear as well.

"Oh yeah, is that so?" George promptly asked, and Hermione grinned in turn. "Won't be long before she knocks your arses down with these classes," she said as she watched Luna miserably failing to win from Ginny.

"I think we can handle our little sister," Fred challenged, a confident grin on his face. Hermione simply shrugged, "Suit yourself," she said as she walked away, up front to Ginny as she had been called out by Harry to step forward.

Ginny shot a wicked smile at Hermione, clearly having gained some confidence after having successfully defeated two other players, but Hermione stood her ground as well. As soon as Harry counted down, she was the first to say her incantation and watched in satisfaction as Ginny was slightly blown back.

The little witch let out a protesting huff, but shot her a warm smile anyway when she had regained her balance.

At this Ron was called forward, and Hermione shot an uncertain look at Harry. Though she and him were on good terms now, it was no secret that there was still a bit of tension going on between them. Perhaps that's why he paired them up. To let this moment be used to get rid of all tension between them.

"_You're on," _Fred said, though Hermione doubted it was aimed to her. She had grown to learn whenever he would be talking directly to her or to someone else. It was in the tone of his voice. It always sounded a bit softer whenever it was directed to her, and this time it was not.

Curiously shooting an eye at the twins, she watched as the twins were leaned into one another, big grins on both of their faces. Both of them had their arms crossed in front of their bodies, and had a wicked glimmer in their eyes.

Harry counted down once more, and the moment he had released the last count she was already fast and ready as she clearly enunciated "Expelliarmus," and watched in satisfaction as Ron was knocked back down with a harsh blow.

Perhaps it was a good thing indeed to be paired up with Ron in this duel. She did feel all her last tension slip away as he was laying on the ground right now.

A couple of people cheered and said "well done," but all Hermione could see was George sulkily handing Fred some what looked like pocket money, and Fred just grinned proudly as he put it into his own pocket.

Ron walked up to the twins, to presumably say something to regain his dignity, which the twins just waved off with mocked agreement.

Harry took a moment to renew the rounds, saying they had only five minutes left for this class, and wanted everyone who hadn't had their turn yet to be able to give it a try.

And so Hermione joined the twins side. "D'you think I went a bit too harsh on him?" Hermione asked Fred. Though she enjoyed the hard blow given to Ron, she couldn't help but wonder if it had perhaps aggravated him once more.

Fred, however, shook his head. "I thought it was fantastic," he said, and Hermione turned to look at him, wanting to see if he really meant it. When she saw the genuine smile on his face, she knew he did. "You really think so?"

"It was brilliant," he assured her, then with a grin retrieved something from his pocket. Holding up one sickle, he beamed as he shot a look at his twin brother. "Even more so now," he said as he let out a laugh, having just received an elbow blow to his side from a grumpy George.

Hermione dropped her mouth open in exasperation, "You were betting for me?" She asked incredulously, but Fred just raised his shoulders as he dropped the sickle back into his pants. "I knew you'd win," he simply said, leaving Hermione with a light blush on her cheeks.

\- x -

"He's got a bit of a thing for you, Hermione," Ron said out of nowhere when they were back in the common room after their first class. They had just been talking about how well Harry had done, so to have Ron say this, got her rather confused.

Apparently noticing her expression, he elaborated as he added: "Fred." At this Hermione let out a half-hearted chuckle, "I don't know what you're on about, Ron," she said pointedly, hoping to end this conversation, but he wasn't buying it.

"I've seen the way he looks at you, y'know," Ron went on, but unlike many other times, he didn't sound jealous anymore. In fact, he sounded rather pleased with himself for noticing such things. He usually wasn't one to pay attention to those small details.

Rolling her eyes, and feeling a light blush creep up onto her cheeks, unable to believe that someone might fancy her, she waved his statement off. "Oh, shut up," Hermione said.

Grabbing her stuff, she rose up to leave, but wished them both goodnight before she did.

Before she could make it to the girls' dormitory, however, she was stopped in her tracks. "Hermione, wait," Fred said, though she didn't need their charm to be able to hear what he was saying. He was close enough for her to hear him already.

Fred was ever so slightly out of breath, clearly having taken a sprint for it as soon as she had watched her get up and leave. "What?" Hermione asked, though sounded a bit stern, which wasn't her intention at all, and so she added a smile to make up for it.

"I saw you two talking," Fred said, referring to her little conversation with Ron. "Mind telling me what kind of juicy things he had to say?" He asked, adding a half-hearted grin that didn't quite reach his eyes. It was obvious that he was more curious than he was confused.

"It was nothing," Hermione tried to say, hoping that would set him off. It didn't. "Was it about us?" Fred asked, putting a hand on the wall next to her head. Us? It felt a bit unusual to think of her and Fred as 'us' and yet, at the same time, it sounded completely right.

Trying not to be intimidated by his stance, knowing he was doing it to humble her up and get answers from her. It was a nasty habit he had developed ever since Grimmauld Place.

Staring back into his brown eyes, she couldn't help but notice the close proximity between their faces, especially now that he had leaned slightly down with his head to level with hers. Still, he was remarkably taller than she was.

"Just him talking some nonsense," Hermione breathed, and before he could even say or do anything else, she slipped up the staircase and disappeared into the girls' dormitory, falling asleep to Ron's words echoing in her head.


	28. Closer

**Whispers in the dark**

**Chapter 28: Closer**

_**A/N: **__I own nothing except my mistakes_

Letting out a soft yawn, she let her eyes lazily glance around the corridor. It was nearing curfew, and she was set out along with Ron on her Prefect Rounds to point the curfew out to people whom were still wandering astray, as well as putting people in detention once curfew would officially begin.

Most people had already gone up to their common rooms, and currently left her wandering on her own. She had passed another Prefect from Ravenclaw, but didn't pay him much mind as he was setting off for his own route.

Usually they didn't have a set out route for their rounds, but it was common to split up their ways per house. So at the moment Ron was starting from the ground up, and she was left going from the Gryffindor Tower to the dungeons.

At the moment she was situated on the fifth floor, and was making sure to be extra quiet right here. This is where Umbridge's office was located as well, and the last thing she wanted was to run into her. Though Hermione had the authority to be out even after curfew, she still did not fancy running into that woman at any time of day.

The torches on the wall were beginning to dim as well, and the people in their portraits were all starting to settle down comfortably for their good night's rest. Taking the pocket watch out of her robe, she noticed it was fifteen minutes before ten, which meant that curfew was almost commencing.

Right before she was about to put the pocket watch into her robe again, she came across a Second Year from Hufflepuff, who was scurrying past her down the stairs. She called out for him and tapped her watch, and he took the hint as he nodded and ran for it even faster. Poor bloke.

Walking two more floors down, she had attended three more students on her way that curfew would be setting in ten minutes. Luckily so far she hadn't come across a Slytherin yet. They were harder to handle.

"_Newest edition, and finest as well if I may add,"_ Hermione froze in her tracks, convinced that Fred was right behind her. Yet, as she twirled around in a heartbeat, she silently scolded herself for being so silly. Of course he wasn't next to her. Usually she would know when or not he would be around, but often when she was dozed out or not paying attention she was caught off guard and felt like he was right behind her.

The conversation struck her as curious, but she figured it would be useless to pay attention to. She had another duty to fulfil right now. _"Just two sickles for the entire box," _at this Hermione stopped walking once more.

Not just because it sounded like they were trying to sell one of their products – which she had scolded them about before – but also because the voice didn't just sound close anymore because of their charm, but also because she heard a soft echo going through the corridor right around the corner of where she was standing.

Squinting her eyes, she carefully stepped around it, thinking she was going mad, though was quite relieved to find that she wasn't as she saw both Fred and George sitting on a bench, the Second Year from Hufflepuff that she had attended only five minutes ago sitting between them.

Her relief was quite quick to vanish, however, as she quickened her pace and approached the three boys. Clearing her throat, she caught their attention right before the boy was about to put a piece of candy in his mouth that she was rather certain of that they had not tested yet.

"'Ello 'Mione, fancy seeing you here," Fred casually spoke, though the sparkle in his eyes vanished for a moment. He tried to play it off cool, but she was convinced that he knew that a scolding awaited him. Well, he wasn't wrong. "Nice night for a stroll, is it?" George added, a grin on his face. He, however, didn't look as worried as his twin brother. Perhaps because it was easier for him to escape her banter than it was for Fred.

"What in Merlin's beard are you doing?" Hermione spoke sternly, propping her hands on her hips to accentuate her authority. All she got in return was just a smirk from the two twins. The Second Year's boy, however, looked rather uncomfortable as he was desperately looking around, perhaps trying to find a way out of this.

"Just having a lovely chat with this boy, is all," Fred covered, but she was quick to shut him up with a glare in her eyes.

"You," she said to the Hufflepuff boy, who was doing anything in his might to avoid her eyes, "I thought I told you to go back to your House." The boy nodded vigorously in confirmation, though still didn't dare to meet her eyes.

Hermione looked incredulously as the boy still remained seated. "Well, what are you waiting for? Curfew is in five minutes," at this the boy hurried off the bench and bumped slightly into her side as he took a run for it.

"Now you've done it," George said grumpily, wishfully looking at the boy who was disappearing from sight. "Scaring away all our customers," he added, a solemn shake of his head going along with it.

Shooting him a raised eyebrow, she squinted her eyes at him. "Thought you were just chatting?" She challenged, to which George and Fred shared a quick glance with one another.

Fred was the one to have the guts to actually prop a grin at her. "Yeah, chatting about our newest product, of course."

Hermione looked incredulously at him. "You were testing on an innocent boy!" she scolded loudly, though winced a little as a portrait next to them scolded her in return, telling her that he was trying to get some sleep.

"Innocent?" George asked, then let out a laugh.

"We never test without permission," Fred said, though rolled his eyes slightly.

"Yeah, he was eager to get his hands on it." George added.

"And willing to pay us double for testing it as well," Fred spoke enthusiastically, though that enthusiasm vanished quick enough when he realised that they lost their customer thanks to her.

Taking a moment to look at the boys and shake her head, she let her hands drop off her hips. "Willingly or not, you do know that it has become forbidden for the two of you to sell any Weasley products since three days ago, right?"

Fred was the first to scoff, but George joined him half a second later as well. "That stupid little thing? It doesn't mean anything," he played it off cool.

Right now Hermione was getting mad. Not just because they were being so careless, but also because she was worried for them. "Are you mad? Of course it does. If it had been anyone else who had found you, you could have been reported to Umbridge and gotten expelled." Hermione hissed, having a bit of trouble keeping her voice down as she was hoping that the louder she said it, the better the message would sink in.

"You see," Fred said, standing up from the bench so he could stand a little closer. He was doing it to intimidate her, and it quite frankly worked. "We don't really care about getting expelled anymore," George finished for him, standing up as well, though kept a bit more of distance.

Right now she could only feel Fred's breath on her face, the warmth of his body radiating towards her. He kept an intense look in his eyes, a faint smile quirking on his lips as he watched her intently.

"When did you ever care?" Was the first thing Hermione could mumble under her breath. It was too soft for George to hear, but Fred heard it just fine, and let out a soft chuckle. "We're ready to start our own joke shop," he began, and naturally George finished for him. "And let's just say that school isn't our top priority anymore."

Upon bringing this news she could only look at Fred, instinctively stepping a bit closer as her mouth was dropped agape. She couldn't believe that she heard about this just now. "A joke shop?" Hermione stammered, all her previous anger gone.

She had to crane her neck up to look him properly in his eyes, but he just patiently returned the gaze as he gave her some time to process it after he nodded in confirmation. "But where would you even get the money from?"

At this Fred smirked, but George was the one to answer for him. "Let's just say that someone has given us a generous donation," he said, but Hermione still couldn't be bothered to turn her head to the other twin.

Keeping her gaze at Fred, she had a moment of silence as she thought this over. This meant that at any given moment they could be out of school, and she wouldn't see them again besides the holidays whenever she'd visit the Burrow.

The thought saddened her for some reason, and so she furrowed her eyebrows as she lowered her gaze, swallowing away whatever she was feeling.

"You two should head to the common room," Hermione spoke, though her voice came out only as a soft whisper. "It's well past curfew by now," she added as an afterthought.

The two boys remained rooted to their spot, and thus she slowly lifted her gaze up again. Fred was looking at her curiously, his eyebrows softly pressed together and his mouth lightly agape.

"You should go, I'll be there in a few," Fred said to George, having a hard time taking his eyes off her but managed anyway.

Hermione didn't need to turn around to know that George would be both confused and curious, as well as to know that he was leaving with a grin on his face as she heard some rustling behind her – she had turned her entire body towards Fred when conversing – indicating that he was taking off.

Fred kept his eyes on the back of his twin brother for a second longer before letting them rest once more on Hermione. Softly licking his lips, he propped the smallest of a grin as he lifted his hand so he could remove a stray hair from her face, his finger softly grazing against her cheek before he dropped his hand down again.

Hermione let out an almost inaudible gasp – though she was certain Fred could hear it as his grin broadened – and wondered why he was putting on a show when they had no spectators. He would usually do things like this whenever others were around, just to keep up their little show, but not when it was just the two of them.

"You're not sad to see us leave, are you?" Fred asked knowingly, his voice deepening as he lowered it so they wouldn't get any unwanted scoldings from the paintings. A grin laid firmly on his lips, though he did have a curious look behind his eyes.

"Of course not. I would finally be able to rest peacefully," Hermione lied in a breathed voice. At this Fred let out a hearty chuckle as he shook his head.

"That's the first convincing lie that I've heard coming out of your mouth," he said, but all Hermione could do was swallow away the adrenaline that she was beginning to feel in her body.

A curious tension was beginning to rise between them. Perhaps it was because they were standing so close to one another – one had simply needed to take one small step and they would be mouth to mouth – or perhaps it was because it was well past curfew and she didn't want Fred to get into any trouble; he really needed to head back to the common room.

Or maybe it's because he knew exactly what was going on inside of her without her needing to say a word. It was almost as if he wasn't just able to hear everything she said, but also everything she thought. It was quite an intimate setting if you looked at it that way.

"You still haven't told me what Ron and you were talking about the other day," Fred spoke softly, using her lack of speech as his advantage. Wetting her lips, she furrowed her eyebrows slightly together in question. "Why does it matter?"

Fred looked her up and down, and Hermione subconsciously dug her fingernails into her palms to refrain him from seeing her shaking hands. The adrenaline was building up the longer they stayed in such close proximity.

"It was the first time that Ron didn't sound mad, I wonder why," Fred clarified, though his grin turned into a bit of a smirk as he had obviously seen what she had done to her hands.

Biting back a breath, she willed her heart to calm down a bit before she would speak. Why was she reacting this way? It isn't like she hadn't been so close to him before. It happened often enough in one of their charades.

Perhaps it was because at this moment it wasn't a charade. At the moment it was very real.

Hermione had to lightly shake her head to get rid of that thought. She was being absolutely ridiculous.

"Ron thinks you have a thing for me," Hermione tried to keep her voice stable as she was rather nervous to confront him about this. What if he would get mad at her for saying something like that? It was only Ron's speculations anyway.

She had also expected Fred to burst out laughing and therefore waking up all the portraits so they would get a chore of scolding, but it never came. He didn't even let out so much of chuckle.

In fact, his smirk fell all-together as it made place for a relaxed grin, only tucking on one corner of his lips. "Maybe I do," he breathed, and closed the gap between them with that one small step, his lips coming almost in contact with hers before they withdrew again, not getting the chance to rest against hers.

"What in the world are you two doing?" A voice boomed from behind them, and one of the paintings gave a nasty grumble at the source.

Whipping around to find Ron staring at them in shock – though no sign of anger was present – Hermione felt her cheeks heat up as she looked back at Fred.

The latter, on the other hand, was casually resting his hands in his pockets as he had made some space between him and Hermione, a neutral expression on his face as he stared at his little brother, though knowing him better, she could see he was lightly agitated by the sudden disruption by the way he was carrying his eyebrows. They were ever so slightly dipped in.

"You ought to go back to the common room, I need to finish my rounds," Hermione addressed at Fred, though quickly walked past both boys as she hurried down the corridor, needing a moment to process it all.

Fred had just been about to kiss her. It was a surreal thought to her, and it left her feeling more confused than she could have ever imagined. Not because she was bothered by the action, but more because she was almost angry at Ron for interrupting and not letting Fred finish. And that right there, confused her even more.


	29. Exploding toad

**Whispers in the dark**

**Chapter 29: Exploding toad**

_**A/N: **__I own nothing except my mistakes_

It had been well over a week since their last encounter in the corridor where he almost kissed her. To her astonishment, Ron hadn't brought it up. Clearly he had spoken out of shock because he simply hadn't expected to walk in on that, and something told her that he had noticed how desperately she was trying to avoid any conversation about it, and had wisely kept his mouth shut.

As for Fred, he had been acting like he hadn't even so much as tried to kiss her that night. He was acting as he usually did, and still kept up their charade whenever around others. Enjoying it more right now as she was even more humbled by it, simply because every time that he had come close all she could do was think back to that night.

It drove her absolutely mad. She would have preferred by now that he would just yell it through the school, spread the message or boast about it. Anything but this silence as if it had never played out.

Nothing in his behaviour changed, and she even began to wonder if he had just done it with the single intent of just teasing her like mad and get a reaction out of it. Perhaps he hadn't even intended on ever kissing her in the first place, regardless of whether Ron would have interrupted them or not.

Yet, that didn't explain the agitation in his face. Or perhaps she had imagined that as well.

Yes, she was going nuts. She wanted answers – clarity; anything to prove that she wasn't imagining things. But she didn't want to go ahead and confront him either.

And then there were her feelings. She had been feeling confused about it before their almost kiss. There was no denying that they had grown a lot closer, especially over the summer at Grimmauld Place, and she thoroughly enjoyed his presence.

Fred brought out the best of her. The part that she didn't even imagine having. He taught her how to balance fun and education, and to show that both are as equally important. But more importantly, he was the one who was joining her in the fun.

She doubted that she would have enjoyed it half as much as she currently did if he hadn't been right along her side. It was his excitement that was so contagious that made her think otherwise.

It was for that matter that she felt a smile tug on her lips as she watched the Gryffindor players practice on the Quidditch field.

Hermione wasn't usually one to come and watch Quidditch practice. She had plenty of more important work to do, and yet, lately she had been coming by more often. Mainly because she enjoyed seeing the twins do their thing.

At any other moment those two were always joking around, not a single day passing by without one of their pranks. A straight face wouldn't be kept for longer than five minutes, and yet, on the Quidditch field they were more serious than she would ever dare to dream to see them in school.

What she enjoyed even more, however, is when practice was ending like right now, and they would slowly ease back into their usual selves, having a bit of a cat and mouse game between each other as they slowly got back into their jokes before heading back to the dressing rooms, hair heavily coated with sweat and their robes ruffled by the wind.

And every single time that she came to watch she would always wonder if they even noticed she was sitting there. They were so thoroughly caught up in their concentration, that she doubted that they would even see.

And yet, after every practice as the lot of them lowered their brooms down, patted each other on the back and slouched to the dressing room, Fred would always shoot a look over his shoulder, staring straight at her with a wicked grin on his face and muttering the words _"Enjoyed the show, did you?" _

And every single time Hermione would feel flustered and leave the stands in a hurry, earning her a teasing chuckle as he focused back in front.

Today was no different, except this time she didn't scurry away. She simply kept his gaze, thinking back to that one night that had been causing her restless nights, and felt a taunting smile play on her lips.

"Would have liked to see that arm swing around a bit faster, but it was all right, I s'pose," Hermione playfully spoke into the wind, Fred becoming smaller and smaller the further he walked. And yet, she saw his eyebrows shoot up, surprised by the different reaction than he was used to, but was quick to burst out into laughter regardless.

"_I'll just have to try harder next time to impress you, don't I?" _Fred said, and she could practically hear the smirk tugging on his words. At that George also briefly whipped his head around to see if she was close by – he knew by now that he often spoke randomly to Hermione – and grinned as he turned his head back around.

Feeling flustered once more, she was grateful to see him turn around right before her cheeks could redden up, and once more hurried off the stands.

By the time that Hermione had gotten off the stands and had crossed the field, the boys had had the time to quickly shower and change, and had caught up with her just as she was halfway into the castle, on her way to the Great Hall for some dinner.

"You know," a voice started, though she already knew who it could be. It could only be one person. "I feel slightly hurt by your comment," Fred finished, and Hermione felt an arm prop around her shoulder. There he went again, putting on their façade.

Hermione played along, as she always did, and let out a hearty laugh. "Just want to see you succeed, Fred," she spoke sweetly, purposely batting her eyelashes dramatically before dropping that charade.

Fred chuckled, then pressed her closer into him, his arm moving from her shoulder to her waist. "Aren't I just lucky to have you around?" He purposely flirted, speaking up a bit as a group of students passed them by, shooting a look at the two of them.

At this he leaned in, his lips resting themselves against her cheek, planting an exaggerated kiss before moving to her ear. "Enjoy your dinner," he breathed into her ear as they had arrived at the Great Hall.

Fred dropped his arm and parted ways with her, leaving her dumbstruck before quickly composing herself and hurrying off to find her friends in the middle of the table, Fred and George positioning themselves with their friends at the end of it.

Taking a seat next to Harry – who had arrived just before she and Fred did - she saw two redheads staring back at her, both caring equal grins as they looked her over. Yet, both for different reasons.

The first redhead, Ginny, was presumably grinning about the ordeal that had just played out, and the second redhead, Ron, was grinning about what he had walked in on and the little charade from a few seconds ago.

Both clearly had the wrong ideas.

"What?" She innocently asked, and got simultaneous shrugs from the both of them. "Potato?" was all Ginny said as she passed her a basket full of baked potatoes, and Hermione hesitantly accepted it.

Had Ron perhaps let it slip to Ginny about what he thought he had walked in on last week? Ginny was acting way too gleeful to have just seen her be kissed on her cheek by Fred.

Shooting a – what she hoped to be – a discreet look at Ron as if asking "Did you tell her?" he simply caught her eye and shook his head. Ron looked at his little sister and back at her, and gave her a single shrug as if to say that he didn't know either why she was so happy.

Feeling slightly relieved, she went to eat her potatoes, but couldn't help but think that the little witch knew more than she was letting on.

\- x –

"That filthy toadheaded bloated piece of-" Fred spoke angrily, but Hermione quickly hushed him before he could finish that sentence.

She had watched an ordeal play out from the stands after the Quidditch match between Slytherin and Gryffindor and had seen how Harry, the twins and Malfoy had gotten into a rather nasty fight. Which included wand raising and a lot of physical actions.

At the time she had already tried to calm Fred down under her breath – she was seated next to Neville and Ginny; the first not knowing about their charm – but it had been fruitless. She didn't know what they had been arguing about, anyway.

After the lot had been pulled apart by teachers, she had followed Fred down as he left to go for a walk instead of going to the dressing room.

Gryffindor had won, and instead of them throwing a party, they were all sulking away, leaving Hermione rather confused.

"Can you please tell me what happened?" Hermione asked, watching as Fred paced back and forth, his face as red as his hair, the latter being stuck to his face by sweat.

"Umbridge banned us from Quidditch," Fred snapped at her, though she knew it wasn't directed towards her. He was angry at that woman – furious, even.

Hermione dropped her mouth open in surprise, at loss for words as she saw him angrily kicking away some rocks with his feet. "What? She can't do that!" Hermione spluttered, though knew that Umbridge had in fact gotten that authority a while back.

"She can, and she did," Fred fumed, pulling on some strings on his robes so he could take them off, needing a bit of a breather.

Stepping in as she saw him angrily fighting with a knot in his strings, she slapped his hands away and untangled it for him, helping him take off his robes. "If I hadn't been so pissed I would say that you're trying to hit on me, Granger," Fred tried to joke, but it only came out as a snidey comment.

Hermione rolled her eyes at him, holding the damp robes in her hands as she watched him shake his arms out. He had been playing really well as a beater.

"But why?" Hermione asked, and he stopped mid-way stretching. "Why what?"

"Why did she ban you?" Hermione explained, figuring he had forgotten about their little topic in his rage.

Fred scoffed loudly, his lips snarling up as he shot an outraged look back over his shoulder at the Quidditch field. "We got into a bit of a fight with Malfoy after his endless bullying towards Ron, and she deemed us too violent to ever play again."

Hermione let out an exasperated gasp, furrowing her eyebrows in equal anger as she thought of Umbridge. That bloody woman brought out the worst in her.

"But you two have been playing for _years_. You've been the best beaters the team could possibly have." Hermione defended.

Fred tried to smile, but just shook his head rapidly side to side. Not so much as a disagreement, but more to shake off the waterdrops from his hair.

"What's the point of staying here without Quidditch?" Fred mumbled to himself, but she heard him clear as day.

"Well, for starters, if you were to leave you would no longer be able to tease Merlin's pants out of me," Hermione tried to joke, hoping to light up the situation. She could understand that he was resentful, but she didn't want him to give up hope.

Fred let out a lopsided half-hearted grin as he finally looked up at her, a stray piece of hair hanging loopily over his eyes. "You know you secretly like it," he teased back, though his heart wasn't fully in it. At least he tried.

Hermione shot him a smile, shaking her head lightly as she released an easy chuckle, stepping a bit closer.

Pushing the stray piece of hair away from his face, she wondered if perhaps she should lean in. Maybe he hadn't brought it up and pretended nothing had happened last week simply because he might have feared that she hadn't wanted him to kiss her. Perhaps he was afraid of rejection – I mean, who wasn't afraid of that? 

And yet, she didn't think it was the right time. He needed time to sort out his emotions after getting delivered such bad news. Besides, the thought of even thinking about kissing him right now scared the heck out of her.

And thus, she quickly took a step back, though kept a smile rested on her lips. "C'mon, you need to get ready and have some dinner. We'll get our revenge on that nasty toad," Hermione proposed.

Fred chuckled lightly as he easily let an arm drape over her shoulder. "Only if you're the one to blow her up," he joked, earning him a hearty laugh from Hermione. "Deal."


	30. Up to no good

**Whispers in the dark**

**Chapter 30: Up to no good**

_**A/N: **__I own nothing except my mistakes_

Dumbledore's Army had been having meetings for a month now, and this was their third lesson they were having. Last time they had practiced the Disarming Charm some more, refining it and helping out those who still struggled.

This meeting they had been given the assignment for the Shield Charm, though Hermione had already mustered this charm well last year. Thus, instead of practising the charm herself, she chose to simply shoot spells and let others practice their charm.

They had been free to choose pairs, and Fred had approached her before she even had to time to think of anyone else.

So far she had been quite enjoying it to throw random spells at him, especially when he wasn't successful from shielding it just in time like right now.

"Real funny, Granger," Fred huffed as he had been dancing around on the spot for a few minutes now. He had been able to laugh at first, but right now he was getting seriously tired. "But it'd be great if we could continue practising right now."

George, however, seemed to think otherwise as he piped in with the conversation, leaving his partner Seamus hanging for a moment. Quite literally: he had hit him with a levitation charm.

"Got your tap shoes on I see, Freddie." George joked as he high fived Hermione, who laughed in return.

"Oi! Yer s'pposed to take my side," Fred grumbled, though let out a laugh as he suddenly changed direction.

Hermione let out one more laugh before pointing her wand at Fred and muttering "Finite."

Fred took a moment to regain his breath before turning back around so he could face Hermione again. George had already made a leave for it as he had brought Seamus back down to the ground.

"You are so going to regret that," Fred spoke, a dangerously wicked grin spreading on his lips. She was not intimidated, however. "Oh really? Because last time I checked I was the one throwing spells," Hermione taunted, but he remained grinning.

Opening his arms wide, he invited her for another spell. "Give me your best," he challenged. And thus, with an overly-confident charisma, she lifted her wand up at him, Fred doing the same as he kept on grinning, a wicked glimmer in his eyes.

"Rictumsempra," Hermione clearly enunciated, feeling quite cocky as she knew he could do nothing but protect himself. If he failed to do so, he would suffer the consequences by getting madly tickled.

Yet, Fred did manage to protect himself, in fact, he managed to do it so well that the spell rebounded from his shield back to her, and she watched with horror as she felt the effects play out on herself.

Laughing hysterically, she clutched her sides as she gasped for air. She hated being tickled, let alone by a charm that was even more intense than the real deal.

Fred just stood there, his arms crossed and a big grin on his face. "If I were to tell you a joke right now, d'you think that you would laugh even harder?"

Hermione laughed, though involuntarily. The tickling was maddening, and she was certain that everyone was looking right now. "All right, all right," Hermione breathed, but then bursted out in another chuckling spree. "You've proven your point," she laughed, feeling hot tears going over her cheeks from all the laughter.

Fred released one more hearty chuckle as he lifted the charm, allowing Hermione a bit of a breather as she wiped away the tears. "Luckily for you I'm quite merciful," Fred quipped, shooting her a broad smirk.

"Right, you're a knight in shining armour," Hermione said as she rolled her eyes, still quite out of breath as a smile lingered on her face.

Fred repositioned himself to stand a bit broader, hands on his hips as he dreamily looked to the side. "Right you are," he said, imitating a knight.

Laughing at the horrible joke, she lightly bumped his arm with her fist. "Now get off your hippogriff," she said as she saw Harry approaching them.

"I saw your execution of the charm," Harry spoke, referring to Fred as he held a mischief smile on his face. "Good work," he complimented and Fred beamed. "Thank you, _professor,_" he joked and Harry let out a chuckle as he stood a bit closer to Hermione.

"It's nice to see you happy," He said in a hushed voice before walking away again.

Hermione smiled at his back, though lightly shook her head, half-heartedly disagreeing with that. Sometimes she was convinced that she'd get a heart attack from all the laughter.

After their meeting everyone had gone back separately to their common rooms, all in different intervals as to erase suspicion.

Hermione, Ron and Harry were the last ones to leave, and Ron patted Harry's back as he complimented him on another great lesson.

"It's really nice to see things coming along, Harry," Hermione agreed, keeping her voice down as they walked through the empty corridor. It was nearing curfew.

Harry nodded vaguely, a bit lost in his thoughts. "They're all very driven to learn," he spoke, a faint smile on his lips as they entered the common room.

Distancing herself from the lot, she was pleased to see that the couch near the fireplace was still free, and thus she quickly occupied it to go ahead and study. They did have their O.W.L.s this year, after all. Though school had only begun for a couple of months now, it still felt like there wasn't enough time at all to learn everything they needed to.

Fred had seemed to have gotten the hint as well, because they had made the agreement last year that whenever she would solely study for her O.W.L.s, he would keep his chatting to a minimum.

Of course, him being the talkative one this wasn't entirely possibly, but she heard him telling George – the two of them were working on products – that he would simply reply with nodding as much as possible.

Enjoying the quietness, especially when it was nearing midnight and almost everyone had cleared out, she went on for a little while longer until at last Fred propped himself down next to her on the couch.

"It's well past your bedtime," he said as he stretched his legs out, letting a low sound of approval out as the warmth reached his feet.

Looking him over, she noticed he had changed into his casual wear; a dark green blouse splattered with white. It was a good look on him, really.

Heaving a sigh as she put away her books, she took a moment to stretch her arms in the air and grunted as she felt some cracking in her back. "What time is it, anyway?" She asked in confusion as she looked around the empty common room, the last two students on their way to the staircase.

"A quarter to one," Fred spoke, sounding rather tired as he rested his head against the back of the couch, staring up at the ceiling.

Hermione noticed the pressure of his body against hers, as well as the gap that was left between himself and the armrest. He had purposely scooted closer to her.

Softly clearing her throat, she tried to relax as well as she stared into the fire, letting her thoughts roam about.

"I see you're enjoying our little façade," Hermione spoke softly, not removing her gaze from the fire, though she could see him lifting up his head from the couch out of the corner of her eye.

Fred grinned slightly, "What is there not to like?"

Biting her lip, she shot a quick glance at him, but saw that he had already put his head back down. "Why do you do it?"

"What do you mean?" Fred asked, now lifting his head up fully and sitting up straight again.

Her breath hitched a bit as he came real close now. "I mean, why do you spend so much time on this façade?"

Fred looked genuinely confused for a moment. "Isn't it what we had both agreed on?" He asked.

Hermione nodded, but then looked at her hands, not daring to look him in the eye as she spoke. "I just mean that you even continue the façade when no one is around."

A sudden laugh erupted from his mouth, and in surprise she looked back up again, just in time to see him rip his eyes off of her as he shook his head.

"What's so funny?" Hermione inquired, almost feeling offended for being laughed at. Surely that statement wasn't that funny.

Fred shook his head once more as he looked at her, a light chuckle escaping as he gave her a genuine smile, a warm look erupting from his eyes. "And they say you're the cleverest witch of your age."

What was that supposed to mean? Did she not see something that was apparently so obvious?

"There's just one thing I don't understand," Hermione went on, choosing to ignore his little scene. "What's that?" Fred asked lazily, though kept her gaze.

"Ever since we started the façade," Hermione began, but then corrected herself, "no, wait, before we even started the façade, Ron has just been so _off_."

"I mean, he's come around now," she added as an after-thought, letting her gaze drift off to the fireplace, noticing the fire was almost dying out. It needed another log of wood. "But for a long time he's been acting as if it was a personal offence."

Standing up to collect a log of wood, she gently put it on the fireplace. She didn't intent on staying up much longer, but the fire was about to die out any second now, and she didn't feel like sitting in complete darkness.

"That's obvious, innit?" Fred said, looking her over.

Furrowing her eyebrows, she shook her head. "What d'you mean?"

Fred stood up as well as he grinned slightly, already towering over her as he came to stand in front of her. "He used to fancy you, of course." Flabbergasted, she furiously shook her head as if it was the most insane thing she had ever heard.

Fred simply cocked an amused eyebrow at her. "Is that so hard for you to believe?"

Hermione actually began to laugh at the thought, then shook her head again in disbelief. Surely he was mistaken. Ron and her had just been really good friends.

"It's ridiculous, that's what it is." Hermione chuckled as she looked at Fred, who was simply looking back at her in mild amusement over her disbelief. "I mean, according to Ron you fancy me as well." Hermione joked, genuinely not being serious, though she still did wonder why Ron said that and why Fred did act like he did almost a month ago when he had been about to kiss her.

Fred cracked a smile, watching as Hermione calmed down from her laughter. "Obviously." Was all he said.

And before she even had a chance to process that one single word, he easily closed the gap between them with one simple step, resting his hands on her waist as he leaned his face in.

For a moment he hovered before her lips, watching as she looked at him with eyes spread wide, a nervous hitching in her breathing. Fred let a smile sprawl out on his mouth, and she was almost beginning to think that he was just messing with her.

That he would retreat like he did the last time, just to laugh at her reddened face and tell her that he would have loved for others to see that little charade.

But he didn't.

Instead, he closed the gap and rested his lips softly against hers. A little uncertain at first, as Hermione was momentarily rooted to the spot, unable to believe that this was happening. Something that had kept her awake for weeks was finally happening.

This wasn't a joke. It wasn't one of his pranks.

This felt real. More than real, actually, as he pressed his lips down with a bit more certainty, feeling the light scraping of his teeth against her lips as he let out the smallest of a chuckle, soft air tickling her face. Fred took a moment to take her hands that had previously been hanging numbly next to her body to put them around his waist before getting back to the kiss.

Being brought back to reality and her lack of enthusiasm, she clasped them around his body with a bit more intent, enjoying the soft touch of her hands against his silky blouse, the warmth protruding through it and feeling the slightest hint of a fastened heartbeat through his spine.

And with that she let herself relax into the kiss, giving it a bit more pressure and intent before breaking apart with an almost relieved and flustered laugh. Unable to believe that they had come this far, but being genuinely happy to be at this point. Oh, and also to not have Ron interrupt them this time, contently listening as his snores travelled all the way to the common room.

Hermione rested her forehead gently against his – having to stand on her tippy toes for that – as she bit her lower lip, unable to grin like a madman as she loosened her arms around his waist and instead brought them up to his chest, softly letting them rest on there.

"I can't believe how oblivious I've been," she breathed so softly, though he could hear her perfectly. Feeling the rapid rising of his chest under her fingers as he let out a laugh, he pulled her closer towards him. "Y'know, I might have to strip you away from your title as the brightest witch of your age," Fred joked, but all Hermione could do was let out a shaky laugh, still in disbelief of what just happened.

"I think you might have to indeed," she smiled into his chest.

_**A/N: **__Whaaa they finally kissed! I usually don't do author's notes at the end of the chapter, but come on, this one needed one! I just wanted to say a quick thank you to all of you who have been patiently waiting for this chapter to happen, and also to those of you who keep leaving incredibly kind messages! It means the world to me to know you all are enjoying this story as much as I do, and I hope I'll keep entertaining you for the rest of their schoolyears! Lots of love! xx_


	31. The call

**Whispers in the dark**

**Chapter 31: The Call**

_**A/N: **__I own nothing except my mistakes_

"Miss Granger?" Hermione hurriedly looked over her shoulder, nearly knocking her bowl of cereal over. It was early in the morning, and yet she hadn't been able to shut an eye.

Only two days ago was Arthur taken into the hospital and had Harry, Ron, Ginny and the twins left off to go ahead and visit him.

"Dumbledore will be ready to await you now," Professor McGonagall spoke, the one to have addressed her. Yesterday was the first time she had gotten to speak to Fred about what was going on, and he had asked her then already to come and visit, but it wasn't exactly as easy as that.

Since it was a regular school week, she couldn't just leave school without any good reason. After all, it wasn't her family that was currently suffering. Yet Fred had insisted and convinced his mother to write to school so they would allow her to come.

And Molly had done so. Writing rather furiously that Hermione was as much of a daughter of the family as Harry and her own children. Apparently that letter had worked out well.

Nodding to Professor McGonagall, she gave her a quick and mumbled "thank you" as she hurried away from the table, leaving her leftover cereal to remain forgotten.

At the moment she was very glad that she had chosen to not first change into her school robes. It was still Friday and she did have classes, but they were a bit later on. Besides, she had been hoping for this kind of news.

Therefore she had already packed a suitcase to bring with her, since Christmas break was commencing tomorrow. She figured there would be a big chance that they'd remain back at Grimmauld Place – Fred had informed her yesterday that that's where they were staying after visiting hours at St. Mungo's – until school would start again.

Having hurried off to the Gryffindor Tower to grab her luggage, she was rather out of breath as she arrived at the two Gargoyles guarding Dumbledore's office.

Only bad thing, however, was that she had forgotten to ask Professor McGonagall what the password would be.

Groaning, she hopelessly looked around to think of a solution, and was almost about to go ahead and run back down all the way to the Great Hall when the spiral staircase began to move and a heavily coated man came prancing down the stairs, his robes sweeping behind him with gushing wind. Never before had she been so grateful to see Professor Snape.

He couldn't exactly return that favour as he abruptly halted upon seeing her. For a moment Hermione was convinced that he'd tumble over his own feet at the sudden stop, but he didn't. In fact, it looked like it was all planned out.

"Miss Granger, what are you doing here?" He spoke lowly, a cold tone lingering to his syllables.

Clearing her throat, she nodded to the ceiling where Dumbledore's office would be. "Professor McGonagall said that Professor Dumbledore would be awaiting me, sir," Hermione stumbled, then regained her senses as she spoke more clearly. "I was only left without a password," she finished.

Professor Snape looked at her with an unreadable expression, though it was not even close to becoming a positive one. Without saying a single word he took a sharp step to the right to grand her access to the stairs, and only did he move when she was all the way up.

Knocking on a door that had already been left ajar, she waited for his greeting before she'd push it open wider.

"Professor McGonagall told me to come and see you, sir," Hermione greeted, holding the suitcase strongly in one hand upon approaching his desk.

"Yes, yes, I see you've packed already," Dumbledore spoke, peeking over his half-moon spectacles as he propped a smile.

Hermione smiled sheepishly. "Do forgive my boldness, Professor, I just assumed that I had gotten the clear to go ahead and visit," she explained.

Dumbledore cocked her an intrigued eyebrow as he looked her over. "So you've heard about it already then?" He spoke in surprise.

Biting her lip, she had completely forgotten how odd it might struck him, considering she didn't have any direct bonds with the Weasley family. As far as he was concerned, at least. "Yes, sir. I was owled yesterday." She lied, though knew it was futile. Hermione absolutely sucked at lying, and that was only confirmed more when Dumbledore's eyebrows popped up in surprise.

"I see," he spoke vaguely, then nodded to the fireplace behind her. "Arthur is lucky to be alive, Miss Granger. Yet, may I add, only barely." Dumbledore began explaining, but then lightly shook his head, as if scolding himself. "I suppose I should let the family explain further," he concluded and rose from his chair.

His long purple robes flayed behind him as he walked around his majestic desk, approaching her and the fireplace, taking the smallest of a pot off it and handing it to her. "I'm quite certain that you know where to go, don't you, Miss Granger?"

Hermione nodded vigorously as she placed her suitcase into the fireplace first. "Thank you, Professor," she said, and watched as he nodded before stepping in as well and taking some of the floo powder out of the small pot he was holding.

Taking a firm grip on her luggage, she popped one tiny smile at Dumbledore before clearly enunciating "Grimmauld Place 12" and felt the nauseating tugging on her body as she was forcefully removed from Hogwarts and dropped back at Grimmauld Place in a heartbeat.

Upon leaving Hogwarts Hermione had already embraced herself for the gloomy setting that she would arrive in, and yet, as she left the fireplace and quietly dropped her luggage next by her side, she wasn't prepared for such silence in the house. Even the twins weren't there to joke around.

Mind you, it was late enough to all be awake, and she knew they were as she heard clinging sounds coming from the room next door, and yet no one spoke a word.

Taking a few careful steps closer to the kitchen door, she took a deep breath before gently pushing it open, welcoming the sight of the Weasley's sitting at the dinner table, Harry being the only odd one out.

Upon seeing her, Molly was the first to rush to her side, dropping her dirty dishes into the sink before going over to her. "Hermione dear, I'm so sorry we weren't there to welcome you. If I had known you'd be here so soon we'd have been ready," was the first thing she said, and Hermione couldn't feel but like feel her heart break and grow warm all at the same time.

Here she was, having her husband in fatal conditions in the hospital, needing to try and put on a good face for her children – being this close Hermione could see the red eyes the woman was carrying – and also welcomed Hermione back as if it was just any other regular day.

Feeling like she had to give her a sign of appreciation Hermione pulled Molly into a firm hug, catching the woman a bit off guard before she composed herself. "I'm so sorry to hear about Arthur, Molly." Hermione spoke gently as she let the woman go.

Molly gave her a half-hearted smile as she turned to go back to her dishes. Hermione had a feeling that she only did that to refrain from her eyes, that had become very watery, to spill over.

"Thank you, dear. I'm very pleased to say that he's stable now," Molly spoke, though her voice was slightly shaky.

Letting her eyes roam around the room some more, she saw Harry sulking away over his untouched toast, almost a look of guilt ridden on his face. Hermione hadn't gotten much detail about how Harry knew that Arthur had been attacked yet, but she had figured it must have been to do something with You-Know-Who, having heard from Ron that his nightmares had become more intense lately. Perhaps he somehow blamed himself, thinking he might have been the one to get Arthur into the hospital.

"I still don't understand why we can't come and see him, mom," Ginny spoke, the small witch carrying the same red eyes as her mother did. It wasn't often that someone would catch Ginny in a state of weakness.

"I told you, Ginny, dad needs a day of rest to speed up his recovery," Molly calmly explained, though her words sounded rather strenuous.

Ron, who always had the biggest appetite of the lot, was sporting an untouched plate for the first time since knowing him. He only just managed to meet her eye and shoot a strained smile.

And then there were Fred and George.

George was occupying himself with scratching the end of the wooden table with his nail, almost entranced by the continuous motion as a deep worry line formed on his forehead from concentrating so hard.

Fred, on the other hand, was firmly looking at her, his eyebrows sunken and only a ghost of a smile present on his face.

You knew things were wrong when the twins were silent. Clearly, and understandably, this whole ordeal had them all shaken up. To such a state that not even the twins could bring some light in the darkness. Not yet, for now, at least.

Hermione had been feeling rather hesitant ever since he had asked her to come to Grimmauld Place, saying he would like her there. Since the attack on Arthur had happened the same night as Fred and Hermione had kissed, they hadn't had gotten a chance to talk about the kiss yet. It was the least of their worries right now.

And yet, Hermione couldn't help but think back to it as she looked him over, his hair still ruffled from sleeping. He had had the decency to already put on some clothes, unlike his other siblings, but she could see there hadn't been put much thought into it. In fact, she could have sworn that his shirt was turned the wrong way around.

Clearly Fred longed for her presence enough to make his mother owl to school, and yet, right now, she felt petrified as she was rooted to her spot, even though everything inside of her screamed to go ahead and move towards him.

It must have been his entire family being around them that had stripped her of her bravery, until she reminded herself that bravery is exactly what she was sorted into Gryffindor for. And she was a proud Gryffindor indeed.

With that motivating thought she approached Fred, trying to push away the awkward thought of what would happen if he would just remain seated and let her stand there. You see, there weren't any free spots around him. Next to him were both Ginny and George, and opposite them were Ron and Harry. Thus the only free spots would be the ones she had already passed.

Yet, she had not need to fear as he moved his chair back as soon as she began to walk, the scraping of the legs on the stone floor being the only one to fill the room with some sound. That motion even made some heads turn, but Hermione paid it no mind as she took one last look at Fred's face, for the first time wishing that the twins would be back at their pranks just so they could carry those glorious grins of them. Ones that were nowhere to be found right now.

Taking him tightly into her arms, she let out a soft breath of satisfaction as she felt a bundle of shirt tighten around her fingers, the strong smell of gun powder and wood overpowering her nostrils, the scent slowly beginning to familiarize itself for her.

Hearing his breath hitch slightly clear as day before soothing off into an easy rhythm got her clasping on a bit tighter before releasing again, but not all the way.

They probably remained in an embrace for longer than would be considered normal, but Hermione didn't have the heart to care about that at the moment. In fact, she had completely forgotten about anyone else's existence as soon as she had wrapped her arms around Fred, that she was mildly surprised to now see every head turned to the two of them as Fred finally let her go, her having waited until he would, figuring he really needed that emotional support to hold on for this long.

Even Molly had her eyes peeked at them, though didn't make a point of showing it, curiously glancing before turning her head away. Clearly she had expected her to embrace anyone else in the family except for the twins. 

"Walk with me?" Fred lowly asked as he brought his head close to her ear, speaking so soft that only she could only pick out his words even though to her it sounded like regular speech.

Hermione nodded, and then felt his arm – that had previously been wrapped sideways around her waist after letting go of the hug – slowly drape down her back until it disappeared completely.

Being the first to leave the kitchen, she waited with bated breath for Fred to excuse himself and leave to the living room to join her on the couch.

For a while they sat there, in complete silence, and not even a single limb touching one another. And yet his chest rose and fell evenly, signalling that he didn't mind the quietness. In fact, he took a big breather in before slowly letting it all out in an exceptionally long exhale.

"You must think I'm a walloping weeper," Fred spoke softly, his voice cracking slightly after not having spoken for so long.

Hermione turned her head incredulously at him, scooting over at him slightly in the process of it. Though that was more subconscious than she had actually meant to. Not that she minded, however.

"Believe it or not, it's completely understandable to have feelings. Especially after what happened," Hermione spoke gently, hoping that he wouldn't feel ashamed of feeling this way and therefore perhaps shutting her out. She needed for him to spill it out so he could feel better again.

Fred popped her a lopsided smile, though it only just barely reached his eyes.

Again the silence returned, Hermione not quite certain whether to break it with uplifting words or not. Then again, she still didn't exactly know what had happened, so how could she even comfort him right now?

"I have never felt so scared in my life before," Fred admitted, though rather rushed through his words as if wanted to get the emotions over with. Then again, Fred had always been the less sentimental one of the entire family. Especially compared to Ron.

Hermione nodded understandably, hoping that if she kept silent that he would keep on talking. And luckily he did.

"When I was called awake by Professor McGonagall and was told what Harry knew, I just couldn't believe it, y'know?" He spoke lowly, his eyes gazing off into the distance as his eyebrows furrowed firmly together.

"That was, until I arrived in St. Mungo's and saw more bandage than my father," at this his words died out a bit. "I mean, who would want to hurt him, y'know?" He finished, completely mumbling the last words. Never having felt so grateful for their charm before, however, she heard him just fine.

"Would you mind telling me what happened?" Hermione asked carefully.

Fred slowly turned to look at her, his eyes drifting from hers to lower down her face before slowly lifting up again. His eyes almost began to gleam in such a way they always would before he would tell a joke, but she could see he hadn't had it in him right now. Perhaps tomorrow, but not today.

Instead he just heaved a sigh as he eased up on the frown on his forehead, letting it relax a little bit, explaining to her about all that Harry had seen and what had happened after they had left Hogwarts and had went up to the hospital to go ahead and visit him.

And all that Hermione felt was right was to simply nod and listen, knowing that pressuring him to talk about his feelings would only shut him up. Fred hated feelings that weren't positive, especially when they were his own. She could hear it in the bitterness whenever he spoke about what he felt. As if anything other than a joke was a crime.

Yet, even though he didn't voice it, she was glad to have come here, and that he was too. Though she might not talk him through it, she could at the very least listen and slowly move her hand towards his arms. Careful at first, tracing just a single finger up and down, nearing his hand before retreating quickly again. Then slowly, add more fingers until at last an entire palm was pressed softly against his forearm, until she then reached down and grabbed his hand, experiencing the calloused hands from all the work he had put into making his products.

And perhaps, that right there, was all that she needed to do to keep Fred happy. Just to be there and give him some material to tease her the living heck with after he would feel all right again. And for once, she didn't mind so much. She'd be glad to do about anything right now just to see him smile again.


	32. Viscum album

**Whispers in the dark**

**Chapter 32: Viscum album**

_**A/N: **__I own nothing except my mistakes_

Peeking through the blinds in the kitchen, Hermione felt a smile creep up on her face as she looked at the snowy landscape greeting her. The streets were all packed, and a bunch of children let out excited squeals as they chased each other with snowballs.

It had been a long while since she had such playful fun, and at the moment, just by watching those kids, she couldn't help but feel like she would love to get in and join them in their game.

"_D'you s'pose we should prank someone?" _Hermione heard Fred say, which made her pull back from the window to focus back on the rustling behind her. _"Yeah, I s'pose you're right," _he continued, a little bit disappointed. Perhaps George had managed to talk him out of it.

"Come on, dear, get a seat. I'll be calling for the others," Molly said as she spotted her, a big grin resting on her lips as she quickly hurried off to the other room, vaguely hearing her call out for her sons.

Taking a seat, she gratefully let her eyes roam to the end of the table, Arthur having just gotten back from St. Thomas. Alive and well, even though he was still heavily bruised. It was no wonder that all of them were in such bright moods, as she watched Ginny cackle at a miniature Santa Claus sitting on a broom, who had just ran into her head by accident.

It took only a couple of seconds for Ron and the twins to join, the latter choosing to sit on either side of her, with Ron opposite them.

"Daddy's back," Molly announced gleefully as she came to stand behind Arthur, resting her hands on his shoulders. The children began to clap, and Hermione joined in with them, a stretched out smile on her lips as she knew how hard this time had been for the Weasleys. They were such a close family, and none of them could imagine losing one another.

"Time for presents!" Molly went on, a glimmer in her eyes as she handed the first one to Ron: a yellow box decorated with a red tie.

Upon opening his present Hermione could see he wasn't all too enthusiastic with his hand-made vest, but for the sake of his mother, he still smiled at her gratefully and thanked her whole-heartedly.

As Ginny was unpacking hers, Molly moved on to the twins, doubtfully switching the presents a couple of times before finally handing it over. Fred and George didn't so much as pass a glance between each other before immediately switching them around, Fred leaning slightly into Hermione as they did, whispering with a quirky undertone "Mom always hands us the wrong ones."

And he was right indeed. As they had opened up their presents they now had the right letter on their scarves, even though the colours and patterns were similar.

"Here you go," Molly said as she passed Hermione a present as well, and Hermione gave her a quick "thank you" before letting the package rest on the table in front of her.

Hermione had to take a moment as her heart gleefully jumped in her chest. She, herself, was a family-orientated person as well. And yet, being around the Weasleys, especially Molly, made her heart always beat a little bit faster. Because this woman was absolutely incredible if you thought about it.

Because it was no secret that the Weasleys had little to no money. Let alone when still having to feed four children still living at home. Plus an extra one if you counted Harry, who they had practically adopted ever since the first year. Hermione, too, had been more than welcomed into their family since the third year when she had begun to visit them during the holidays.

And here she was, making the most out of their situation by still providing their children with presents, as well as Hermione and Harry, and it being the best presents every single time, mainly because it was made with so much love.

"Open up, I want to see your faces," Molly encouraged at Hermione, and so she finally untied the ribbon, pulled the package aside and took out a beautiful, warm purple scarf. At the ends of them they had little pompoms dangling off.

"This is wonderful, thank you, Molly," Hermione beamed, but the woman waved her off with a hearty chuckle.

"Harry, dear," Molly said as her eyes averted to the doorway, Harry entering the room with Sirius following suit. "There you are," she hurriedly spoke as she grabbed a stray present from a cabinet as she made his way over to him, taking him into a hug before handing him his present.

"Want some fruit punch?" Hermione didn't even need to turn her head to know what twin was talking to her. She could hear it in their voices from the very moment they had opened their mouths. "Yes, please, George." And gladly handed him her cup.

After a moment or two he handed it back to her, going around the table to scoop up some for the rest without any complaint. Clearly the return of Arthur even got them in such a good mood that no bad thoughts were on their minds.

Hermione sure did prefer it that way as she dared a quick glance at Fred – who was reaching for some garlic butter to batter his bread with – and adored the easy smile on his face that had resided there since the moment Arthur had put a foot into this house again.

She quickly averted her eyes, however, the moment he turned his head to meet her staring eyes, a grin popping on his face. "It's all right to stare," Fred joked lightly as he dropped a couple slices of bread onto her plate without her needing to ask (Hermione felt very touched by this, despite bracing herself for the teasing that was bound to happen), "I know I'm a looker," he finished with a smirk as she lightly hit his arm.

Even though it had been a couple of days since Arthur had gotten into the hospital, Fred nor Hermione had felt the need to talk about the kiss yet. Their minds still on other matters. Besides, they frequently visited the hospital. There was no time to have a serious conversation.

And to tell the truth, Hermione had been quite grateful for that. Because what does one say after one has kissed each other?

"To Mister Harry Potter," Arthur began, lifting up his fruit punch as he pointed it at Harry – the latter looking a little awkward as he fumbled on his spot – "without whom, I would not be here."

At this everyone at the table, including Hermione, lifted up their glasses to Harry before taking a big gulp, everyone chuckling a bit as it turned messy with some of them.

"Now sit down and eat everyone," Molly joyfully spoke as she too, took a seat next to Ginny. "Plenty enough soup for all of us," and with that she started to grab the plates from everyone around the table, scooping some spoonful of soup into their plates before handing it back.

Loud chatter and a bunch of laughter filled the table again that had been so quiet the past few days. Every one of them were exhilarated, with the exception of Harry perhaps.

Once in a while she tried to catch his eyes so she could cheer him up a little, even trying to converse with him, but he kept quiet and avoided her eyes every single time. It was obvious that he still felt like he was the one to blame. She just hoped that she would catch a moment with him sometime to convince him otherwise.

It didn't take long for everyone to finish up eating, considering the fact that it was just lunch with some bread and some soup, and before long half the table had already excused themselves to head off to the living room to play and chat a bit, but Molly, Arthur, Hermione and Fred remained seated in the kitchen.

Molly was the first to get up to go ahead and tidy up, but Hermione felt it wouldn't be right to let her do it all by herself, and thus she jumped up as well, joining her at the countertop. "Let me help you with this, Mrs Weasley," Hermione politely suggested as she reached for the big pile of plates in the witch's hands.

"Oh, thank you, dear. That would be nice," Molly reluctantly gave in as Hermione was already holding the plates and bringing them to the sink.

"Yes, mom, how about you and dad go ahead and have a bit of fun in the living room? We'll tidy up here," Fred jumped in as well, and both Hermione and Molly turned their heads simultaneously to his direction.

Hermione's expression was one laced with a bit of suspicion, but Molly's was downright shocked and wary. "If you're planning to blow this place up, Fred Weasley-" Molly began, but was quickly shut up as Fred gently grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her to Arthur.

"First off, I'm very offended that you think I would ever do such a thing," Fred said, not sounding offended at all. In the slightest, actually. He sounded rather proud. "Second off, it's Christmas. The only time in the year to be nice. So enjoy it, mother."

Molly was rather hesitant, shooting an uncertain look at Hermione – who quickly shot her an encouraging smile – before she made up her mind and pushed Arthur out of the kitchen.

Knowing what Fred was trying to do, she quickly turned on the tap so the room would fill itself with the rushing sound of water, an occasional clattering as a cup would bump into a stray plate floating around.

To her astonishment, however, Fred remained completely quiet. All he did was carry a faint smile as he lowly whistled a Christmas song under his breath, a towel fumbled up in his hands as he dried off the dishes that she had passed him.

This gave her some hope, and thus she wishfully continued cleaning the dishes, trying to ignore his hand that was deliberately bumping into hers whenever she passed him a clean dish, a grin popping on his face every time as he held on a bit longer than was necessary.

"Can't ignore it forever, y'know," Fred began to say right before they were finished with the job, crushing Hermione's hope of being able to escape this conversation. "Watch me, Weasley," she playfully spoke as she let the sink drain itself from the water it had collected as Fred was now hurriedly drying off the last remaining cup.

He lightly tutted at her as he put the cup back into the cupboard. "Now where is your Christmas spirit, Hermione?" Fred spoke, a light chuckle escaping his breath as he hurried away from the cupboard so he could walk right next to her.

"I think I left it in the living room, I s'pose it would do well to go ahead and find it back," Hermione countered, earning her a grin from Fred.

However, before she could even step one toe over the threshold, she was immediately bound to her spot, Fred coming to an abrupt hold as well as he had been walking alongside her.

"What-?" Hermione mumbled under her breath, trying to put a foot over the threshold again, but being held back by some unknown force.

Irritably, she turned to look at Fred, who was carrying a wide grin, realizing the close proximity they were in. "If this is some prank of yours, Fre-" Hermione was about to say, but got cut short immediately as Fred pointed upwards, a laugh escaping his lips.

Slowly looking up, she watched in surprise as she saw a small plant dangling from the ceiling, its green leaves and berries still growing majestically. Groaning, she turned to look back at Fred's smirk smitten face.

"Looks like we're going to have to talk about that kiss after all," Fred grinned, his warm breath prickling her face.

Taking a deep breath, she lightly bit her lip as she quickly debated her options. Coming up with a clever idea, she matched his grin as she smiled mischievously. "No, we don't," she simply said as she gave him a quick kiss on the lips – barely brushing them, but still being effective enough for them to be released from the magic spell and for her to walk away.

Before she could, however, a hand grabbed her wrist firmly, giving it a good tuck so she had no other choice but to turn back around and get close again with Fred.

"Yeah, I really think we should," Fred breathed, before dipping his head in and confidently resting his lips against hers, him smiling into the kiss as she gave a light groan in surrender, easily letting her arms rest around his waist as he pulled her in closer. Maybe she wasn't so mad about that mistletoe after all.


	33. Educational Decree

**Whispers in the dark**

**Chapter 33: Educational Decree**

_**A/N: **__I own nothing except my mistakes_

"Catch it if you can!" Fred laughed as he tossed George a blazing firework. "C'mon now, Freddie, be a bit quicker, will you?" George countered as he twirled around and tossed the firework back to Fred over his shoulder.

Laughter from both the twins as well as bystanders boomed around the courtyard, and Hermione couldn't help but smile as she watched the two of them. They were testing out some newly created firework that was able to keep burning as long as it didn't stay on a surface for longer than a second.

Yet, their fun was short-lived as soft clicking sound was heard ticking behind them, and as Hermione slowly turned around to see who was approaching them, she looked in disdain as Umbridge lifted up her wand and made the firework the twins had been playing with vanish in mid-air.

Both Fred and George sulked as they watched the pink back of Umbridge disappear out of sight, before grumbling towards the others that they should go ahead and find someplace else to entertain themselves.

"If it's any consolation," Hermione began as they headed back to the castle, "I quite liked your newest invention."

At this both heads' snapped her way, a grin reappearing on their faces as they high fived each other right in front of Hermione's face, nearly clasping her nose between it.

"Did you hear that Freddie?" George began as he shot a wicked look at his twin.

"I dunno, Georgie, I think I'd like to hear it again just to make sure my ears didn't deceive me." Fred smirked as he dipped his head a bit so he could look at Hermione properly.

Scoffing, she let a smile graze her lips as she shook her head. "I mean, there's loads to be said about the safety when it hits the ground, of course." She corrected, knowing that it would be dangerous if she were to only give them praise. Though she could admire their work, she didn't want them to be unsafe with it.

"Huh, that's weird," Fred mocked as he looked back at George. "I think I just had temporary hearing loss," he went on.

George piped in as well, mocking a serious face as he itched his ear. "That's weird indeed, Freddie. I think the same thing happened to me just now as well."

"I sure do hope you weren't saying anything important, Hermione," Fred feigned.

"Yeah, would have been a shame if we had missed it." George said, though a grin broke out on his lips, and soon the boys were chuckling as Hermione gave them both a good half-hearted slap to their arms and picked up her pace, just so she could create a bit of distance between them.

That didn't work, of course, seeing as their legs were almost twice as long, and they had caught up with her three steps in just one single stride.

Their grins were still wicked, though faltered slightly upon entering the Entrance Hall, coming to a halt along with Hermione as they watched Filch sway on his wobbly ladder, beating away at a new Educational Decree.

The light shone in such a way that at her level she couldn't make out the words, so she turned her head to Fred. "What does it say?" She asked, then let her eyes drift to Umbridge, who was standing below the ladder, looking very satisfied with herself. Perhaps she had a hunch of what it would say.

"Educational Decree: Number One-Hundred and Thirty Seven: all enchanted fireworks are now forbidden." Fred cited bitterly, then shot Umbridge a nasty look, who just batted her eyelashes sweetly in return.

"That foul-" Hermione began, but was tucked away by Fred before she could finish her sentence. "C'mon, I don't want you to get into detention," Fred mumbled and watched over his shoulder to see if George was tagging along.

\- x -

"Make it a powerful memory," Harry began as he had just finished explaining the Patronus Charm at their DA meeting. "The happiest you can remember."

"Allow it to fill you up," Harry went on as he walked through the mass of practising students, many of them not able to shoot more than some feeble strays of light. "Keep on trying, Seamus," Harry encouraged.

Hermione dared to drift her eyes around for a moment, gleefully watching as a majestic horse shot out of Ginny's wand, parading the room in pride, the owner of it grinning like mad.

Then there were others, who were straining so hard that it worked against them, their wands shooting out light puffs of air. There were also a few people who got the gist of it, but didn't manage to hold on to it. At least that was a start.

It was nice to see Harry getting more into his element. You could see it from miles away that he had gained a lot more confidence than their first lesson, and that he was thoroughly enjoying what he was doing as well. Clearly the enthusiasm of the students was wearing off on Harry. It gave him a power boost in his teaching.

"C'mon, give it a try, 'Mione," A voice spoke, ripping her away from her thoughts. Turning her head to the side, she watched as Harry smiled at her, nodding in encouragement.

Clearing her throat, she gripped her wand tight as she pointed it up in the air, trying to think of a powerful memory. Before she could even process what exactly she was thinking about, she had already slipped out the words "Expecto Patronum," and watched in joy as an otter came swimming out of her wand, gliding through the crowd of students, encircling a certain redheaded boy – who was watching her almost mesmerized – before returning to her to make one last twirl around her body before disappearing.

"Yes, amazing, well done, Hermione!" Harry cheered before moving on to the next student. Vaguely hearing behind her how Harry was telling Luna to focus.

Biting back a satisfied smile on her lips, she dared a quick glance at the staring eyes, and couldn't help but let the smile creep back on her face as Fred propped a warm smile at her.

Feeling her cheeks heat up, she quickly spun around as she let out a breathy chuckle, lightly shaking her head. She couldn't believe that her Patronus had sought him out, but then again, considering what generated it, it wasn't so much of a surprise.

Though she had planned to think about her parents, and childhood memories, it wasn't what had gotten her to conjure that Patronus. No, it almost did, until last minute the memory of Fred kissing her _again _under that mistletoe just two weeks ago had popped back in her mind.

It wasn't exactly embarrassing to have that as a reason, but it did get her confused about a lot of things. Because what exactly were they?

It was clear that his intention with those kisses were honest. It wasn't part of some kind of charade. But then again, kissing her crossed the line of friendship, and yet, they hadn't moved much further to take one last extra step.

Did she even want that?

Hermione lost focus of her surroundings as she tried to imagine that. What would it be like indeed if she and him were to end up together? There's no secret that it would include a lot of frustrations as she would more often scold them on their behaviour than laugh at it. Then again, was that really true still?

Throughout these last two years they hadn't just gotten closer, but also eased up on one another. See different sides of their stories. Yes, both of them still shared different opinions. Though Fred had gained a tolerance to her constant studying, and did find it could be useful whenever he needed her help for their products, he still disagreed with it sometimes whenever she got herself consumed in it.

Then again, Hermione had learned to enjoy their pranks, seeing the benefit of some laughter in these crazy times they lived in. Sometimes, however, she thought some of their pranks were inappropriate, and failed to see the humour in it. That's when she would go all motherly on them and scold them for it.

"- all of you. We're going to keep practising, and I have faith that by the end of this year, you'll all be able to produce this charm." Harry's voice boomed through her ears, bringing her back to the present as she watched in shock as everyone had stopped practising, having come to stand around her and listen to Harry's conclusion of the class.

A little bit disoriented, she let her eyes drift on the opposite wall which had a mirror, and found Fred's gaze with ease. With his hands lazily hanging in his trouser pockets, his sweater a bit askew, he popped a grin at her, almost as if knowing she had been completely out of it.

Unable to help but return a smile, she had a hard time tearing her eyes off of him, but managed when everyone said their goodbyes and left in pairs.

"_We could always slip Professor Umbridge some Puking Pastilles into her tea,_" Fred spoke, making Hermione snap her head to the twins again, ripping her away from her conversation with Neville.

"Are you coming?" Neville asked in confusion, probably wondering why she had zoned out all of a sudden and had stopped in her tracks.

Shooting one last look at the twins carrying some red boxed as they talked to Harry – she couldn't help but wonder where they had pulled those from – she returned her gaze back to Neville, offering him a lopsided smile. "Yes, sorry Neville, let's go." Hermione spoke a bit wearily, trying to put it off her mind. Perhaps she shouldn't always be so critical towards the twins. There was no use in scolding them for their creativity. Besides, part of her wouldn't mind if they acted upon their plan to prank Umbridge.


	34. A lifetime

**Whispers in the dark**

**Chapter 34: A lifetime **

_**A/N: **__I own nothing except my mistakes_

Groaning, she felt her arm being yanked down abruptly as the leather strap from her schoolbag had slipped off her shoulder without her noticing, the heavy weight of all her books now forcefully landing on her lower arm.

"Bloody hell," Hermione grunted to herself, having a bit of a struggle to lift the bag back on her shoulders whilst at the same time trying not to drop the set of books she was balancing on her other arm.

A couple of students called out to her and told her to watch out, as she was solely focused on her own books instead of the people ahead of her, having almost walked into multiple students if they hadn't dodged in time.

That was the least of her worries, however. Her priority at the moment was to succeed in a mission that seemed almost impossible: lifting a single schoolbag.

A sudden airy wind relieved her of the heavy weight that had been pressuring on her arm just a second before, replacing it to her shoulder where it belonged. "Y'know, if you want to endanger all of these _poor _students, you could have just asked for one of our products instead of blazing around the corridor yourself." A cocky voice followed the movement, and Hermione groaned softly to herself.

Hermione might have been avoiding Fred ever so slightly lately. Yes, she still communicated with the twins whenever others were around, but whenever Fred and her were left alone, she would always find an excuse to make a run for it. Thus far she had been successful for two weeks. Until right now.

"Thanks," Hermione spoke absent-mindedly, planning on picking up her pace to lose him in the crowd, but he clearly wasn't having any of that.

Within a couple strides he was back at her side, turning his head to her with an annoyingly big grin. "You'd actually have to take a sprint for it if you ever plan on outwalking me," Fred advised, then broke out into a snicker.

Straining a smile at him, she tried not to keep the eye contact for too long, fearing that she would give into his presence. "Duly noted," she thanked, and quickly averted her eyes.

Right before they had gotten the chance to round a corner that would lead them to the Entrance Hall, he cut her off by quite literally shoving his entire body in front of her face, leaving her no choice but to make an abrupt stop and quietly swear at him under her breath.

"What did you do that for?" Hermione asked when she had overcome her shock. "You finally want to talk about that kiss?" Fred asked, then shot her a big grin as she quickly looked around her in panic, watching in horror as a couple of people shot curious glances their way, before getting back to their own conversations.

Nudging her head to the open wall behind her, he took the hint and followed her, casually taking place on the low wall, looking at the people passing by.

This was the exact reason why she had been avoiding him the past few weeks. Why she had tried to not be alone with him, because she knew this conversation would happen at one point. Although, right now she wondered if it hadn't been better to have had this conversation a bit earlier so it would have been a little bit more private than a school corridor.

Hermione wasn't sure why exactly she was dreading the conversation so much. Maybe it was because she had never really _had _a romantic relationship before. All of this, the kissing and flirting was very new to her. Sure, she has had physical interactions with guys before, but that had been merely platonic. And only with Ron and Harry.

Besides, it was an unknown territory to her. She didn't read about it in books, because in her opinion it was a waste of her time all those romans. Yet, lately she felt really unprepared as how to act. That was what frightened her the most.

"Why do you?" Hermione finally answered him when she felt like she could trust her voice a bit, feeling how her heart was beating rapidly.

Fred slowly turned his head around so he could look at her, the grin no longer present on his face, but instead a hint of a lazy smile laid easily on his lips. His eyes dropped slightly from hers to lower on her face, before looking back up at her.

"Because," he began, his eyes now completely focused on hers instead of the crowd around her – there way too many people in this corridor for Hermione's liking – as he jumped off the low wall he had been sitting on.

"I want to know if I ever do this," he continued, and Hermione felt a tingling and a sudden warmth in her right hand – the one that wasn't carrying a bunch of books – and looked down to see him grabbing her hand softly.

"Or this," Fred went on, releasing her hand and easily rested it behind her back, pulling her even closer to him, the only thing preventing them from completely being pressed together were her books that were now resting against his chest.

"Or kiss you," this time he breathed his words as he pulled his face closer to hers, their foreheads almost touching. "That you won't jinx my head off."

Hermione let out a shaky chuckle, feeling her breath hitch in the back of her throat. She had to swallow first before she could speak, her throat having dried out from the anticipation.

"Why does it matter to you?" Hermione asked, and had some trouble trying to not restrain as Fred popped her a lopsided grin as he took the books out of her hands and laid them on the open wall next to them so she now had both of her hands free. Not only that, but there was now a lot more space for him to close if he felt like it.

"I didn't just kiss you for fun," Fred spoke, his voice sounding honest as he had dropped the lopsided grin. Hermione gave him a challenging eyebrow, as if not believing that he wouldn't do something that had some entertainment value.

"Then why did you?" Hermione countered rather bossily, but he wasn't faced by it. "Because I want to be able to do it again." He said simply, then grinned as his eyes broke away from hers for the first time since they had begun to properly speak, letting them glide over the people that were passing by.

Hermione, too, looked around her for a second, beginning to feel really awkward right now as she noticed that multiple students were shooting them some curious glances.

"Whenever I feel like it," Fred continued, bringing her focus back to him. It was only now that she began to see a little bit of uncertainty behind his eyes, although he covered it up well with a careless demeanour. It was almost as if he was nervous, but didn't want to show it.

Why would he be nervous, though?

Feeling her throat dry out, she licked her lips to prevent her voice from breaking. "What are you saying, Fred?" She had a pretty good idea what he was hinting at, but she didn't dare assume it. It possibly couldn't be..

Fred gave her a short smirk, clearly regaining come confidence from her awkwardness. Funny how that works. "I think you know what I mean," he said and without a warning he let his lips connect with hers.

At first Hermione wasn't sure whether to push him away or not, being reminded that they were currently in a corridor with many other students around (lunch was commencing in a couple of minutes), but decided against it.

She'd be lying to herself if she'd say that this isn't what she wanted. Because it was. Though she had been avoiding him, this had been all that she had been craving for. To feel his arms tangle around her wait again like they did now, the soft nibble on her lip before she would grand him access.

"Atta, Freddie!" was all that the two of them heard before breaking apart with a laugh, watching Fred's beloved twin disappearing around the corner, carrying a big grin on his face as he whistled at them before completely disappearing out of sight.

Before Hermione had a chance to die of embarrassment, he picked up their previous conversation with an easy smile resting on his lips. "So, what d'you say? Wanna have some fun for the rest of your life?"

Hermione couldn't help but chuckle despite her awkwardness. "The rest of my life? That's quite ambitious, don't you think?"

At this Fred full on smirked again, shrugging his shoulders as he handed her the books back. "What can I say, Hermione? I'm an ambitious guy," he joked as they began to walk, her heart beating fast in her chest.

"Well, I must admit it's tempting to see how ambitious you really will be," Hermione drawled, shooting him a grin. "I'll take that as a yes," Fred spoke, a hint of excitement clinging on his words.

"A yes it is, I guess," Hermione spoke, then bit her lip as she felt her grin widen, unable to believe that she had just said yes to a relationship with a wicked prankster.


	35. Study hall

**Whispers in the dark**

**Chapter 35: Study hall**

_**A/N: **__I own nothing except my mistakes_

The schoolyear was creeping by eerily fast. It was already running into February, meaning that the O.W.L.s were getting closer and closer. Of course Hermione had been studying avidly for a while already, and yet she still felt remarkably unprepared. Granted, they still had a few months to study, however.

It was for that exact same reason that Hermione was more than relieved to have this weekly obligated study session in the Great Hall with all of the years. Many of the students were simply working on some assignments, especially the younger years, but everyone from Hermione's year, the fifth years, were all diligently scribbling away as they were working on the tons of new assignments the teacher had loaded them with to prepare them for their O.W.L.s.

To her relief, Ron and Harry were actually working on it as well. Mind you, not even close to the same pace as Hermione was, but at least they were working. That was a start.

Although, that could have just had to do with Professor Snape who had walked in just ten minutes ago, taking over Professor McGonagall's shift as she had been called away not too long ago. Apparently a stray student had been off causing some trouble in the castle, most likely a Gryffindor.

With Professor Snape's supervision, no one really dared to even so much as open their mouths. All that was heard was the constant dipping of quills in inkbottles, the occasionally clatter of the iron against glass, but also a frequent frustrated hush as someone dropped a single blob of ink onto their parchment, ruining all their hard work. Usually those sounds came from very stressed Fifth Years.

It worked quite therapeutic for Hermione as she, too, scribbled away on her parchment, hearing an occasional scratching as she would overdraw her g's in her determined enthusiasm.

The study hour was almost coming to an end, and Hermione had been very pleased with the work she had done so far. She had managed to complete a twelve foot essay for Study of Ancient Runes, and was halfway done with Arithmancy. Although she figured she would need an extra day for that one. There was a peculiar side issue that she would like to read more on first before she would finish it up.

The best thing about these study sessions with all the years, however, were that she _finally _had some actual silence. Yes, Fred was considerate whenever she was studying for her O.W.L.s; or well, at least tried to be most of the times, but even then, it was never truly quiet, wherever she would be.

But right now, the twins too, were lazily scribbling away on their parchments, and by the looks of it, for once they weren't working on their products.

Taking a moment to look up from her own work, she watched with a faint smile on her face as Fred was looking madly in concentration. His teeth were biting down so hard on his lip that a drop of blood was actually starting to form, and then not to even mention the deep line between his eyebrows that was growing more solid by the second.

His twin wasn't better off, either. George actually looked like he was on the edge of a mental breakdown as he stared soullessly at the book sprawled out in front of him. Hermione was certain that by this point he wasn't even taking in any information at all anymore. It made her wonder how long it had actually been since the boys had been properly sitting down for school since they had been so occupied with starting their own joke shop.

Before Hermione wanted to get to work, she shot a quick glance at her two best friends, and had to refrain from a chuckle as her eyes landed on Ron. Whereas Harry was scribbling away in a semi-normal tempo – albeit with a rather uncertain expression on his face – Ron would be constantly writing something down, only to cross it out a second later.

He too, carried a deep line between his eyebrows as his mouth opened slightly agape, his lips closing midway in rapid speed as if in disbelief over what he was reading and copying down.

Though she didn't chuckle, a low string of rapid breaths did escape her mouth before she focused back on her own paper, shaking her head a little at the despair of her friends.

It hadn't even been a minute since she had gotten back to work, when she felt the rush of wind going past her, and out of the corner of her eyes she saw a paper land on Ron's piece of parchment that contained more scribbles than words.

Turning her head curiously to Ron, she noticed he was as confused as she was intrigued, and followed his gaze as he looked straight up at someone. It wasn't hard to guess to whom he was looking at, and as she found Fred's sly face, she knew Ron was in some kind of trouble.

George, too, had come out of his despair as he was curiously looking between his two brothers, clearly not being informed on his twin's action, and had to rely on Ron's reaction to the note.

Squinting her eyes at Fred in suspicion, she watched as he gave her an innocent shrug, which didn't convince her all that much. Letting her eyes glide back to the boy next to her, she read along over his shoulder and could make out a couple of words that implied the answers to Ron's Charms assignment he had been hopelessly working on.

Upon straining her eyes a little harder to see better, she noticed that the answers that had been written down were actually right, and yet, Hermione knew there was a catch. Though the twins were actually quite brilliant when it came to Charms – after all, it was an important aspect for their products – they weren't the type to just help someone out, unless they'd get something out of it too.

Ron, however, was desperate enough to at least get something written on the paper, as today was the final due date for this assignment. Hermione had finished it two weeks ago already, of course, but as per usual, Ron liked to leave things for the last day.

And thus Ron wrote his own name at the top of the parchment, the handwritings looking eerily similar, though Hermione had a feeling Fred had tried to resemble Ron's handwriting. It didn't usually look like this.

Confident, Ron got up with a bit of a grin on his face, closing his books as he carried them along. Making his way over to Professor Snape to hand his assignment in – all finished assignments and essays would be handed in by the present teacher, who would then make sure it reached the designated teacher – Hermione couldn't help but keep her stare on Ron's back, unable to believe that Fred had helped his little brother out from the goodness of his heart.

Though Hermione knew Fred had a bit of a soft side from time to time, she also knew that it wasn't the case with his family. He was, as he had proven many times before, a ruthless prankster.

Everything, however, seemed to be all good and well as Ron handed Professor Snape the paper, and Hermione had almost begin to have faith in Fred's good intentions, until Professor Snape squinted at the two different handwritings, tapping his wand to the paper – presumably to check whether there were any falsifications. Those measures were only taken for Fifth Years as they were a part of their exams – and got himself an exploding paper as it lit fire and brought soot on his face.

As soon as that happened Ron's grin faltered immediately, striking one of horror as Professor Snape looked furious. A wave of soft snickering went through the Great Hall as most of the people had been shaken out of their concentration by the low banging sound as it had exploded.

The snickering turned into soft murmurs, though two sets of voices toppled over them as they carried a deep laughter. The booming in her ears didn't need to confirm what she already knew: this was one of Fred's pranks.

"I hope you thought that was clever, Mr Weasley," Professor Snape's voice drawled icily as he kept a death glare at Ron, "because that just earned you a whole month of detention."

Ron's mouth dropped agape as he spluttered. "But Professor- ", he began, but was cut off immediately. "Tonight, eight o'clock. Now get out of my sight," Professor Snape ordered, his voice not raising, but definitely carrying a hint of urgency.

Before Ron could take a step away from Professor Snape, Hermione snapped her head furiously at the twins that were beginning to laugh even harder upon seeing the look on Ron's face.

"Are you bloody mad?" Hermione hissed, immediately catching Fred's attention as he lazily turned his head at her. He cocked an eyebrow at her, but his grin remained firmly in place. "Mad? No, I wouldn't say that. Wicked? Now that's more like it, don't you think, Georgie?"

"Right you are, Freddie. Wickedly mad, I would say," George said, then his eyes grew wider as he spoke in amazement before falling into another laugh.

"This is not funny!" Hermione exclaimed as she shut her books and threateningly advanced at them from the opposite side of the table. It wasn't very effective, especially when the twins leaned back a little to escape her reach. "You cannot do things like this," she scolded.

To her amazement, Fred's grin spread even wider. "Don't tell me what to do unless we're in bed together," he said, casually winking at her.

At this the bell rang, announcing their next class, and yet, Hermione did not consider them saved by the bell. Not at all.

Heavily frustrated, she slammed her books shut, threw them in her bag and grabbed the loose parchments of her finished Ancient Runes essay. With a quick step in her feet she was the first to reach a very agitated Professor Snape, who had tried to scrub off some root from his face with a napkin, but instead of having made it better, it only made it worse.

Hermione kept her mouth shut, knowing it was best for both parties. Both he and she were mad, and she didn't feel like earning herself a detention as well. This time Snape looked more suspicious as he checked her paper with his wand, but was relieved to find that it did not explode, and that it hadn't been plagiarized.

With that she took a hurry in her steps to follow the redheads out of the Great Hall. They weren't exactly making a run for it, but they did stick oddly close to Harry as they chatted him up. Now that was rather suspicious.

As soon as she was in their earshot, she called out for them. "Fred Weasley," Hermione hissed, and said-boy turned around with an air of carelessness, his twin and Harry joining him. "That would be me," he said, a smirk popping on his face as she was sure that he saw the vein popping on her forehead.

This was exactly the kind of pranking that Hermione did _not _understand. Where she could not see the fun in. It was also at these moments when she wondered why in Merlin's name she had ever said yes to a relationship with this boy.

"D'you even realise what you just did?" Hermione asked in exasperation as he popped his hands into his pockets, taking a lazy stance as if not at all faced by her fury. "Why, yes indeed I do."

"It was a good starter for what's to come, I'll have to give you that," George piped in, nodding his head in approval at his twin brother.

At this Hermione squinted her eyes, cocking her head a little to the side in inquiry. "What d'you mean, '_for what's to come_'?" She asked.

"Oh, you know, I needed someone to set off an entire package of exploding snaps in Umbridge's office," Fred began, but George quickly intervened. "Yes, no doubt there's where Ickle Ronnie is going to end up," he said as he looked at his scarred hand with a bit of a smirk. "That woman sure does like her punishments." He confirmed.

Exasperated, she didn't know whether to remain calm and owl his mother – after all, that was the only person the twins were afraid of – or whether the charge at them and make them fear her.

Against better instincts, she kept their gaze a little while longer, Fred looking victorious at her, clearly under the assumption that she would not risk a public fight. Well, that's where he was very wrong.

"Fred, I swear to Merlin," Hermione gritted through her teeth as she charged at them. At this both of their grins fell, and Harry, who had previously remained quiet as he had been awkwardly kept in place by both the twins, was now pushed in front of them to serve as some kind of shield.

"Come on now," Fred said, this time a little bit less cocky as he looked a little uncertain, not knowing anymore how she would react or what she would do. "Wouldn't kill the chosen one, would you?" George tried to soothe her.

At this Harry spoke up, clearly not wishing to be in the middle of this. "Yes, I would appreciate that, too, Hermione."

Well, that was the wrong thing to say.

Hermione was about to charge at Harry too, but stopped last-minute as she looked at his horror-struck face. Heaving a frustrated sigh, she knew it would be unfair to drag Harry into this. After all, he didn't do anything wrong. He was just trying to save his own arse.

Jabbing her fingers into both Fred and George's chest, she gave them a furious glare. "I will write to your mother about this," Hermione warned, then turned on her heel. "_No, you won't_," Hermione heard Fred say, his voice following her wherever she went.

"Oh yes, and why's that?" Hermione spoke bitterly into the crowd, having disappeared from them in no-time. "_Because it would break my heart if you did,_" Hermione could almost hear the teasing pout in his voice as he said that.

Growling, she almost shoved a poor Second Year out of the way as they didn't turn around the corner fast enough. "Remind me again why I said yes to you?" Hermione asked him, but was met with a loud laugh in return.

"_Because without me, your life would have been too dull," _he proposed.

He was right, and yet, she wondered if dull just wouldn't have been better sometimes. Those bloody Weasleys always had a way of getting under her nails.


	36. Lake adventures

**Whispers in the dark**

**Chapter 36: Lake adventures **

_**A/N: **__I own nothing except my mistakes_

"You really are serious then, are you?" Hermione asked, squinting her eyes a little as the sun shone brightly into her eyes. It was currently nearing Summer, and lately the sun had been making appearances more often, bringing a soft, warm glow with it. Hence why they were currently on their way outside to find themselves a nice spot down the lake.

Fred, her current companion, towered high above her side as he shot a glance down, frowning a bit as he looked at her in question. "Is that a trick question?" He asked as he popped her a light smirk, a little lopsided as he glanced her over.

Suddenly very conscious about her hair madly swaying in the wind, she cleared her throat as she quickly straightened her hair down with her free hand. The other hand was carrying a couple of schoolbooks, as well as some borrowed from the library.

"About leaving school, I mean, y'know, to start that joke shop you and George were talking about," she elaborated, dodging a protruding brick in the street just in time before she would have tripped over it.

Fred gave her a bit of a teasing smile, making a rapid movement with his arms as he clasped the package of parchments tightly together in his hands before the wind could carry them away. Though it was sunny outside, there was still a bit of a strong breeze grazing the earth.

"You're not still upset about that, are you?" He teased, although it sounded almost like a genuine question.

Quick to roll her eyes, she shook her head. "I'm serious, Fred. You barely talk about it," Hermione replied, having to dig her heels a bit more forcefully into the dirt below her shoes as they went downhill. "I see you two working on your products all the time – now more than ever," she went on, watching with a smile on her face as Fred struggled slightly to match her pace as they went downhill. His legs carried him much faster downwards than her, and so he had to physically restrain himself from tippling over as he tried to stay in pace with her.

"And yet, I never hear about a plan of action." Hermione finished, a little out of breath as they reached solid ground again.

Fred huffed as he came to a halt himself, bringing the parchments to his chest so he could free his other hand so it could block out the sun as he looked around him. "D'you wanna go further down this path, or is this all right?" He asked, completely abandoning her question.

"You cannot change the subject, Fred," she said accusingly, but he was quick to shut her up. "Don't get your wand in a twist, 'Mione, I will answer your question, just answer mine first."

"Oh, all right, this here is fine, I s'spose," Hermione said as she spotted a nice little area that was being lit by a ray of sunlight.

Seating herself, she let the books fall down next to her as she waited for him to sit down by her side as well. Fred, however, made quite a show of it as he made a point of scooting extra close to her, an arm snaking around her back as he wiggled a suggestive eyebrow at her.

Hermione blushed, before silently scolding him, making him chuckle. "Can't be awkward around me forever, y'know," Fred pointed out.

"I know," Hermione stammered a bit as she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, "it's just a little bit odd to me still," she confessed.

Fred propped her a questioning eyebrow, but then momentarily broke their eye contact as he reached for a rock a little away from them, having to retreat his arm that had previously been around her back, so he could fetch it and lay it on top of the parchments so they wouldn't be blown away.

Afterwards he snaked his arm back around, though this time it hung a little more loosely. "How come?" He asked, but Hermione simply shrugged her shoulders.

"We're not really the romantic type, you see," Hermione explained, biting her lip as she still felt a little awkward, trying to ignore Fred feigning hurt. "And here I was, thinking I would get awarded for the most romantic boyfriend of the year." He joked, a big grin stretching on his face.

Boyfriend.. that still felt weird to her.

"I'm serious, Fred," Hermione said as she rolled her eyes a little. "Because we're not, it just doesn't feel like much has changed, you know? We might as well still have been just friends." There, she said it.

Currently, the idea of them being in a relationship was the only reminder that they actually were in one. Besides that it still felt to her like they were friends. Or well, flirting friends, that was. They still bickered quite a bit, as well as having fun. But nothing out of the usual from before.

Then again, this was her first relationship. Perhaps it had something to do with her, that she didn't know how soon she should head for more romantic gestures. In fact, the thought of that made her insides twirl in anxiousness. Because Fred wasn't your typical boyfriend. He loved to have fun, and well, if you were to make a romantic gesture gone wrong, he would be the type to tease the living hell out of you, even if he doesn't mean bad. That's just how he is. Perhaps that had refrained her from trying.

Turning her body slightly to the left so she could look at him better, she was surprised to see a soft smile grazing his face, it being accentuated by the sunlight that was brightly shining on them, lightening his brown eyes to a soft meddled brown colour.

Fred brought a hand up to her cheek, his thumb tracing her lip as he lightly pulled it down, licking his own lips as he did, a mischievous glimmer emitting in his eyes. "Last time I checked, friends didn't do this," he spoke softly, capturing her lips without giving her a chance to object or reply.

A soft nibbling on her bottom lip ensued as he pressed her body a little closer to his, involuntarily earning him a soft moan from Hermione as a way of expressing her surprise. At this his lips turned up into a bit of a smirk as his hand trailed slowly over her back, making its way to get underneath her blouse, but it got stuck as it had been tightly tucked into her skirt.

This made them both part their lips away from each other as they let out a laugh, Fred biting his lip as he grinned. "Didn't know I needed to pass security to gain access," he chuckled.

"Then again, I have always liked a challenge," he added as an afterthought, capturing her lips again, this time a little bit more intense as he softly placed his hands on her shoulders, lightly pressing them down, guiding her back to the ground.

Hermione had to momentarily break their kiss apart as she was in desperate need of a big gulp of breath. She wasn't kidding when she said she had never been in a relationship before, let alone kiss someone often. It was all still new to her, and she was still in the process of figuring out how to not choke whilst kissing.

As they broke apart Fred opened his eyes, curiously looking at her, but then laughing as he heard her sharp inhalations. "Y'know, although I feel flattered to literally leave you breathless, it would look rather bad for business if I accidentally ended up killing you during kissing," Fred lightly joked, shifting his body a little as he switched to supporting himself on his forearms instead of just his hands, still hovering above her.

Hermione chuckled a little breathlessly, then had to avert her eyes from him as she bit her lip, lightly nibbling on it as she debated on telling him. Squinting her eyes a bit shut in embarrassment, she took a couple of more deep breaths before taking the leap.

"I've never had someone before," she blurted out, a little faster and unflattering than intended, and so she shut her eyes completely as she tried to not groan out in utter embarrassment.

Fred, who clearly needed a second to figure out what exactly she had blurted out and to process it, had frozen on the spot before letting out a big laugh, his body actually shaking with it as his lower body would continuously rock back and forth against her as he tried to keep himself supported on his forearms.

Right now, she was very happy they were alone in this spot, being sure that his rocking movements of his hips would otherwise be completely interpreted in the wrong way by anyone else.

"Glad to hear you think it's funny," Hermione muttered, seriously scolding herself about how stupid she had been to confess this. Of course he would react this way, unable to be serious about something that was actually quite meaningful to her. After all, he was a year older than her, and almost turning eighteen in a month. Surely he would be a little bit more mature than that, wouldn't he be?

At this his laughter eased up as he gently guided her head back to him, making her eyes go open in the process as she was met with a gentle expression on his face, the ghost of laughter still lingering behind his eyes. "I'm not laughing _at _you, Hermione," he assured.

Hermione was about to disagree, but he grinned slightly as he propped himself back up on his hands so he could take one to cover her mouth. "I'm really not," he said, this time a little more serious as he softened his features.

"I just had to laugh because it finally made sense to me as to why you've been so awkward all this time. And here I was, thinking I had such a blasting effect on women," he lightly joked at the end.

Hermione quirked a small smile at him, but still felt rather embarrassed.

"Look," he began, this time completely serious as huffed whilst hoisting both of them up onto a straight position, having placed himself next to her side again, though facing her.

"Although it's rather endearing to see your face heat up every time I get a little closer than you would expect," Fred said, trying to bite back a passionate smirk, "I don't want you chickening out every time I do."

Feeling a smile creep up on her face at his kind words, she let out a small breath as she softly lowered her gaze to his hands.

"I-," Hermione began, but quickly shut herself up again as she dared a glance at his face. His expression was encouraging, however, as he nodded her on. What she was about to say made her feel like the dumbest witch on earth, and she didn't know if the information was safe with Fred.

Then again, what would a relationship be without a little faith and trust?

With that encouraging thought, she spoke a little softer, knowing he would hear her just fine, anyway. It at least made it easier for her to admit. "I don't really know how to act. You know, like what to do," she tried, a little unsuccessfully, but he still seemed to get the gist of it as he popped her a lopsided smile.

"Hermione," he began, his smile spreading, though it remained genuine. No trace of teasing present. "How often do I have to tell you?"

At this she frowned at him, not knowing where he was hinting at.

"My life with George basically exists out of experimenting. We do it all day, every day. It's a trial of failing and learning," his voice lightly cracked as it suddenly hit a lower octave, "all with the purpose of aiming for success. Every failed attempt is needed to learn and get better," Fred finished, then added a bit of a gleeful grin as an afterthought.

"I know I might seem a bit scary, because I really do love to joke around," – "A bit?" Hermione intervened with a teasing grin, earning her a wiggle of his eyebrows – "and I'm really not much of a guy to get all sappy and serious – actually, to be honest with _you_, I am trying to quickly make my point so we can go back to the lightness in teasing, but what I'm trying to say," Fred had to take a deep breath as he had said all that without stopping once.

"Is that I want you to know that you can experiment on me, learn and grow, and I promise you that I'll _try _not to tease Merlin's Beard out of you when you do fail," At this his infamous grin popped back up.

Hermione couldn't help but let a broad smile spread on her lips. She knew that he hated to have these serious conversations, but could definitely appreciate his attempt at soothing her worries. "Thank you," she spoke earnestly.

Fred popped her a short smile, then cleared his throat as he reached for his parchments. "Now please let us get back to the fun stuff," he practically begged.

Hermione let out a hearty laugh, which turned softer into a permanent smile for the remainder of the afternoon as she fetched her own books, getting themselves ready to work on some Weasley products.

She didn't really know how long they had been sitting there and working, but at last the sun was slowly setting, and they had agreed to call it a day as they collected their items, quite pleased with themselves as they had managed to correct two of the twins' new recipes, as well as creating a bit of a new one. All that was left was George's permission for it.

And thus, once they had collected everything, they made their way uphill again, Hermione still carrying a soft smile as she took a deep breath, pleased with how their day had turned out. Perhaps Fred was right indeed. She did take it a little too seriously, and saw the relationship as some kind of test that she would be graded on. One that she could not make any mistakes with.

But perhaps that was just too big of a grasp for herself. Obviously she knew that relationships were a lot of work – especially with two opposites – and that it would naturally result in a lot of errors and mistakes along the way. She just hadn't allowed that mindset for herself yet.

It probably wasn't such a bad thing for her to end up with Fred, because if there was one person on this earth that could loosen her up more, it would definitely be him. Because he did not like to be serious, if it could be helped. So she would have to learn how to adjust to that, to really loosen up sometimes. Just like he would adjust to her when needed, like today.

Once fully having climbed uphill and being back on the courtyard, Hermione took a few quick breaths before plucking up all her Gryffindor courage. If she wanted to succeed, she had to fail and learn. And what better time to start than now?

Gently sliding her hand to his, he immediately whipped his head to her with a bit of an amused look on his face, curiously looking at her as she clasped her hand in his and gently pulled on it to slow him down, until at last they got to a full stop.

"You're enjoying this way too much, aren't you?" Hermione smiled, and Fred nodded in confirmation, a grin stretching on his lips.

Without giving herself time to chicken out, she raised herself on her tiptoes so she could get closer to his face. Fred got the hint and dipped his head a bit lower, waiting with amused anticipation as she went in to close the distance, resting her lips on his as she lightly pulled on his hand for stabilisation.

It was one thing to be new to kissing, but a whole other thing to learn it with someone much taller than you.

Yet, it wasn't too bad as she had become rather familiar with it already, easily putting some pressure once in a while on his lips to really give it a bit more of an emotional meaning.

Suddenly remembering something, she broke their kiss right before he could really get into it. Fred looked almost scared as he saw the big grin on her face, clearly not having anticipated that. "It's quite exciting, isn't it, breaking the rules?"

Fred's face contorted in an almost conflictedly confusing face as he clearly had no clue what she was talking about.

Hermione cleared her throat as she lowered herself down to the ground, but still held onto his hand, enjoying the warmth that it emitted. "Educational Decree Number Twenty Six: Boys and Girls are not permitted to be within 6 inches of each other," Hermione soberly recited, then broke into a laugh as she finished.

At this Fred's faced lightened up again as he was catching up, letting out a bulbous laugh as well as he lightly shook her head. "You never fail to amaze me, Hermione Granger," he said in between his laughter.

"You truly are a rebel at heart, indeed," he joked as his laughter softened a bit, tugging her along as they made way for the castle, Hermione grinning as she tailed behind.

Once inside, though, Hermione did let get of his hand, her rebellious side failing her as she didn't want to risk anyone reporting them to Umbridge. The only time she had ever gotten detention at her time at Hogwarts had been in her First Year, when Malfoy had ratted on them. And ever since she had managed to stay clean. And she would have preferred to keep it this way.

Fred grinned at her knowingly, but wisely kept his mouth shut as they casually traced their steps back to the Gryffindor Tower, parting their ways with a quick "Thanks for helping out," from Fred, to which Hermione had jokingly replied "You too," referring to his piece of advice.

After they had parted ways, she joined Ron on the couch for a play of Wizarding Chess, figuring she would let her schoolwork pass for a day. She had been really far ahead of her work, and to be quite honest, she had been getting a massive headache from all the studying, and really needed a day off. To her, it was sort of an investment. Rest today, and be able to work hard tomorrow again.

To her dismay, however, Ron had easily won their round of chess, and by then the twins had joined them on the couch by the fireplace, though remained occupied in their own conversation. Hermione only had to pay attention to know that it was – surprise, surprise – about the plans for their own joke shop. It sounded like they were trying to figure out what exactly they wanted to present to customers. At least they were taking it seriously.

"Harry!" Hermione greeted, a lazy smile on her face as she watched Harry approach them, looking a little sullen. "How did it go?" She asked, referring to his Occlumency classes that he had been obligated to take with Professor Snape ever since his dream about Arthur getting attacked.

Harry lazily shrugged as he took a seat in the armchair opposite hers. "All right, I s'pose," he shrugged off, but she wasn't having it. "So, you're making progress, then?"

At this he looked rather hesitant, fidgeting with a loose string on his shirt. "Well," he stuttered, but it was enough confirmation for Hermione.

"Harry! You _need _to take this seriously," she began, ready to give him a good speech on why it was so important to shield him from the dark lord, but he interrupted her before she could even get started. "I know, Hermione," he pressed, then eased his voice up a little. "I know," he spoke with an air of hopelessness.

"It's just that he brings out the worst of me," Harry admitted, his face turning a little nasty, presumably thinking about Professor Snape.

"Can you blame the boy?" Fred piped in.

"Yeah, I would shoot a whole spray of jinxes at that foul git if I ever had the chance to be alone with him." George joined as well, a bit of a nasty grin on his face.

"You do have our earnest admiration, Harry," Fred said, taking off an imaginary hat and saluting to him.

"Right you do, I wouldn't last a day with that man," George agreed.

Hermione simply looked in astonishment at the twins, wondering why they were taking Harry's side. Even more so, why they were praising him.

Fred didn't catch her eye, but certainly was aware of her gaze as he made a point of not looking at her, letting his grin spread out nice and wide first before finally glancing over at her.

It was his twin brother who replied first, having caught her gaze as well. "Oh come on, now, Hermione. We wouldn't want to lose our favourite investor," George argued, a wicked grin on his face.

At this piece of information Hermione immediately whipped her head to Harry in surprise. "What's he on about, Harry?"

Harry, clearly a little uncomfortable to be put on the spot, half-heartedly shrugged his shoulders as he shot a nervous glance at the twins. "I dunno," he lied.

"Ain't his fault that your eyes have been caught up in some other business to not have seen what has been right under your nose," George defended Harry.

Fred was keeping way too quiet, but as she looked over at him she could see why: he was just blatantly enjoying this as her cheeks reddened. She knew George was talking about her and Fred, and that he had seen them snog in the hallway a while back.

"So it's you who has given them the money to start their own joke shop?" Hermione asked, glancing back at Harry, remembering how almost half a year ago – had it really been that long already? – Fred had almost kissed her during her Prefect Rounds and had told her how they had someone who had given them a 'generous donation'.

Harry clearly thought that she would be blazing mad, but after sharing some glances with the twins – Hermione could see them nod vigorously in encouragement – he cleared his throat and nodded. "It's the money from the tournament," at this his voice softened a little. "It didn't feel right for me to keep it, after you know.." his voice trailed off.

Hermione understood what he meant. Cedric's death.

Letting a smile glide on her lips, she watched Harry's eyebrows shoot up in surprise, clearly not expecting that response. "That's really nice of you, Harry," Hermione approved, a warm sensation glowing in her chest.

Though the events leading up to retrieving that money had been absolutely awful, it was nice to know it would get such a nice twist to it. Because with that 'dark' money, the twins would be able to create something that would bring joy to all. And she couldn't think of a better way to remember Cedric's death.


	37. The singing of a bird

**Whispers in the dark**

**Chapter 37: The singing of a bird**

_**A/N: **__I own nothing except my mistakes_

O.W.L.s were just a month away now, and Hermione was well over her head with all the worries and stressing. Even Ron and Harry were beginning to see the severity of it, and hadn't played a single game of chess in over two weeks.

At the moment, they were just leaving their Herbology class – after having had an awfully long assignment that they needed to finish up that same class – and were now heading over to the Great Hall to study in their free period.

Lately the library – much to Hermione's dismay – had been completely packed with students who were cramming last minutes for either their O.W.L.s or their N.E.W.T.s. Hence why at the moment the Great Hall was a much quieter place to study than the library. Especially in free periods.

The three of them went and studied the second they sat down, saving their chitchatting for a later moment, the scribbling of their quills on the parchment being the only sound that filled the silence around them. Well, at least it was for Harry and Ron. Because unfortunately for Hermione, she never had a quiet moment in her life anymore.

"_Of course it will be wicked, Jordan, that's the whole point of it," _Fred spoke, a little too loudly for her liking. "Could you please be quiet?" Hermione hissed softly, but it was loud enough to catch Harry's and Ron's attention. They had a momentary look of surprise on their faces, but made the connection quick enough as they realised she was talking to Fred, and thus they went back to their work.

"_Hang on, I'll be back in a minute," _She heard him say to others.

Taking advantage of the momentary quietness – besides, perhaps, the quick inhalations of Fred's breathing, as if he was running down some stairs – she got back to her work, now having finished all her assignments and essays, and thus being able to spend all her time on studying.

The past half year the teachers had been flooding them with a lot more work than usual, but they had thankfully dimmed down now that there was only a month left to actually study. Hence why she could spend all of her time focusing on annotating and highlighting all her notes and schoolbooks.

Currently she was working on Ancient Runes, though all that was needed to do was a quick skip-through as she felt rather confident with this subject. Throughout all their classes they had been given very useful assignments that they were guaranteed on that would be coming back on the O.W.L.s, and thus she felt like she knew enough about it to not really fret herself up in it.

"_Where in heavens are you, Hermione?" _Fred asked. Hermione debated on whether she should answer that. She knew for a fact that if he were to come and see her, that her peace would be rather short lived. "Great Hall," she spoke softly, and this time Harry and Ron ignored her, though did stiffen momentarily in their work.

"_What are you in the Great Hall for? I thought you'd be in the bloody library," _Fred huffed as his breathing quickened up again. He was definitely going down the stairs. "Too crowded," was all she mumbled before continuing her annotation.

A couple of blissful minutes passed by in silence, until a certain redheaded boy came charging into the Great Hall, accidentally slamming one of the doors a little too harshly against the wall, attracting everyone's attention.

Most people just grumbled or remained silent as they got back to their work, but Hermione kept his gaze for a second longer before turning back to hers as well. Perhaps if she looked busy, he would just turn back around.

Of course he wouldn't, though. When would Fred ever do what she wanted him to do?

"Still studying, are you?" Fred asked, not bothering to keep his voice down as he promptly seated himself next to her, automatically leaning into her a bit as he glanced over at her notes.

Hermione hushed him sternly, to which he innocently smiled.

"I'm surprised you're not," she spoke absent-mindedly as she focused back on her work, dipping her quill back into the ink. "Don't you have N.E.W.T.s this year?" She confronted, but he seemed rather unimpressed as he literally snorted.

"What, those little buggers? How many times do I have to tell you, Hermione-," Fred began, but Hermione sugar-coated as she sweetly finished it for him, "you believe your future lays outside the world of academic achievements, I know."

Fred looked very pleased with her as he nodded in confirmation. "Besides, I'm on top of all my things." This time he spoke a little louder, then continued. "Would you like to be one of them?" Fred asked, a grin stretching from ear to ear as he playfully winked at her.

At this Harry's and Ron's head shot up at almost the same time, Harry's eyebrows popped up high in surprise, a light grin stretching on his lips. Ron, however, looked rather disgusted as he looked between them. "Gross," he muttered, but a hint of a smile was shown as soon as he lowered his head back down.

Hermione, on the other hand, had her jaw dropped open as she had looked around the Great Hall in a bit of a frantic, displeased to see several heads turned their way, a couple of people snickering, two of them being Seamus and Dean.

"Fred Weasley," Hermione started, but Fred chuckled loudly as he kissed her forehead before getting back up again. "Enjoy your study session, lovey butt," and with that he hurried out of the Great Hall, leaving Hermione completely astounded and several students laughing.

What the bloody hell had gotten into him today?

Though a little distracted, Hermione had managed to successfully go over her Ancient Runes material, as well as get halfway through her Charms practice, for which she had excused herself to outside of the Great Hall so she wouldn't bother any other studying student. Even Fred had kept quiet, or at least whispered whenever he spoke.

Eventually the bell rang, and Hermione closed her books and tucked them back into her schoolbag. Enjoying one sniff of fresh air, she removed herself from the Courtyard where she had been studying, and found her way back into the corridor.

"Oi, Hermione!" Great. She knew exactly who that was.

Turning her head around – one of the disadvantages of their charm was that she could never pinpoint where exactly in a room he was positioned, because he always sounded near – and stopped when she finally laid eyes on her favourite, yet not so favourite redhead standing at almost the opposite side of the corridor.

As per usual, he was rarely ever seen walking alone, and this time was no exception, as his dear brother carried a mischievous smirk on his face, keeping almost a dead glare with her.

"I was wondering if you had an extra heart," now, there was no point in Fred for screaming, as she would have heard him just fine without it, but clearly this was not just meant for her. No, this bloody git was planning something, and he wanted the entire school to know about it.

Meanwhile, George was heard chuckling alongside him as Fred continued. "Mine was just stolen," He yelled again, lifting his hand up to his lips and waving it her way as if blowing a kiss.

To her dismay, he did actually blow her something. And considering that he wasn't planning on sticking around to see her reaction – the two of them were laughingly rounding the corner – she dreaded whatever it was that was coming her way.

Now, the object at hand was rather innocent in itself. After all, it was just a paper bird, twirling as it weaved its way through the mass of students – it was lunch time, and everyone was getting out of their classrooms – but she knew better than to believe it would only be a paper bird.

Deciding to ignore it, she ignored the staring eyes as she pushed her way through the students, but the second she stepped away from the paper bird it not only followed her, but it turned ravenous. The chirping that had sounded so lovely and innocent before, were now turning into a soft melody, almost sweetly, yet the words contradicted it completely.

"Roses are red," it began, and she could have sworn it was Fred's voice. But how would he have spoken this if she would be able to hear him? Even though she had become rather great at blocking his voice out, pretend it was background noise, there was no way she wouldn't have caught this. Because this was out of context of his usual conversations.

At this a violin melody came into play, as the voice dreamily spoke on. "Violets are fine," unless, of course, Fred hadn't been the one to speak. Lucky for the prankster, he had a dear twin brother, who sounded almost exactly the same as him, and who loved to prank just as much.

More heads were turning her way, and Hermione seriously debated all her life decisions up to this point.

"You be the six," it went on, and this time she could practically hear the smirking in the voice, even though the violin tried to soothe it out. "And I'll be the nine."

At this she was convinced she had become scarlet red, and the whistling some people gave her didn't really help either. "You might want to open that one," A Hufflepuff said to her with a bit of sympathy, yet couldn't help but chuckle.

She knew that the Hufflepuff girl was right, but she honestly feared that opening it would be even worse than all the carnal things it was saying now.

Hermione had almost safely made it to the Great Hall by taking a bypass, where the paper bird had kept relatively quiet. Clearly it was urged on by the amount of people that were nearby.

Unfortunately, the only way to get to the Great Hall was through the Entrance Hall, and that place was packed. Yet, she had to go through it, but regretted it immediately as the paper bird began to loudly chirp again as soon as she walked through the double doors of the Great Hall.

"You remind me of my little toe," it began, and now even more heads turned her way. "Because I'm going to bang you on every piece of furniture in the comm-," loud booming laughter from the twins was rising above the laughter from other students, and so Hermione cut it off before the paper bird could finish its sentence.

"Oh, all right, all right!" She gave in, feeling completely flustered as she grasped the paper bird out of mid-air and fumbling it open. Well, at least it stopped it from finishing its sentence, but what she read inside didn't make her feel that much better either.

_Meet me in the dungeons tonight,_

_Xx _

Hermione wondered if she could politely pass up on that or not.

-x-

The answer to her previous question was: no, she couldn't pass up on his 'offer'. As he so politely explained to her, she could of course always say 'no', but he would then make sure that perhaps one or twenty other paper birds would be following her around that day until she was perhaps convinced otherwise.

So was it blackmail that had driven her down to the dungeons after curfew? Oh, absolutely yes. Had she expected anything else from Fred Weasley? Oh no, absolutely not.

Although, as the minutes were ticking by and were now turning into a quarter of an hour of waiting, she did begin to wonder if perhaps this was one of his other pranks. Perhaps a bit more of a cruel prank where he would stand her up and get her in detention.

Prefect or not, she wasn't supposed to be out right now. She wasn't on duty tonight, and thus she had to stick to the rules just like any other student usually would.

Hearing footsteps coming her way, she quickly glanced around in the dark to see if there was a way for her to escape to, but the empty corridor seemed endless, with no quick ways to escape it. Well, there her flawless reputation went. She would for sure be busted right now.

Without a warning, a hand covered her mouth from behind, and it was probably a good thing too, because she let out a loud scream in surprise. A muffled laugh penetrated her ears as a breath tickled down her neck. "Fancy seeing you here, Granger," a voice teased softly, then slowly released his hand.

"Fred Weasley!" Hermione scolded in a whisper as she wheeled around. There he was, standing cockily with his hands in his pockets, looking rather pleased with himself. "Don't you scare me like that," she hissed, but eased up a little as his smirk turned into a warmer smile.

Glancing around quickly, she feared that her yell had perhaps alarmed some people, but Fred was quick to comfort her. "Not to worry, I shrugged Filch off at the trophy room. I s'pose he'll be quite busy for a while cleaning up the fallen trophies in which I may or may not have put some exploding fireworks." Fred grinned.

Hermione refrained from scolding him, wanting to know first why they were even here. She didn't like being out in the open like this after curfew. "Why did you ask me to come here?"

At this Fred lighted up as he came closer. "Ah, now that Hermione, is a marvellous question," he started, then passed her by as he went for something behind her.

Turning around, she watched him tickle a poor pear in a painting, but to her surprise the pear squirmed and laughed until it transformed into a doorknob.

At this Fred shot a wicked grin over his shoulder as he entered a room, looking at her awe-struck face. She had never known about this location in the castle. "Are you coming or what?"

Well, he needn't have asked twice, for she was desperate to get out of the dark corridor, and currently the bright room seemed more than welcoming.

"Where are we?" Hermione asked as Fred closed the door behind her, but her question was answered soon enough as they walked a bit further, displaying a grand room that contained many countertops and almost an exact replica of the tables in the Great Hall above them. "The Kitchens," Fred pointed out to her.

"Miss Granger, Mr Weasley, what a pleasure!" A voice squeaked, and in sight came Dobby the house-elf, his ears pointing high up to the ceiling. But what surprised her the most were all the socks and scarfs that he was carrying around his body and on his ears.

"Dobby?" Hermione asked in surprise, then closed the gap a bit to properly look at his clothing. "Is that…" taking one sock off his ear she immediately recognized the bad stitches of her knitting from when she just started this year. "Is that the sock I've knitted?"

At this Dobby looked rather ashamed as he took a big step back – though not after having taken the sock back out of her hands – and fumbled with it as he lowered his gaze to the ground. "Excuse me, Miss Granger, I hope you'll understand. Dobby never meant to hurt your feelings, Miss," the little elf stumbled as his little feet swept over the floor below him.

"I don't understand, I've been hiding them all over the Gryffindor Tower," Hermione mumbled, completely forgetting that Fred was by her side, solely focused on Dobby now.

At this his little ears twerked up slightly, his gaze lifting up as he scratched behind his ear. "Yes, well, you see, Miss, the house-elves here at Hogwarts didn't like your gifts as much as I do, Miss," and then he lowered his gaze back to the ground. "They figured it a bit rude,"

Now Hermione was really confused. "How was it rude, Dobby? I just wanted to set them free."

Dobby lifted his head completely up now, smiling as he put the sock back on his ear. "Dobby knows you mean well, Miss, but the house-elves don't want to be free, you see."

Hermione shook her head, not understanding at all. Dobby shot a desperate glance at Fred, who in turn grabbed Hermione by the shoulders and guided her over to one of the tables so they could grab a seat. "Why don't you two have something to eat?" Dobby began, "Yes, yes I think that would be good," he finished, and before she could protest he had disappeared out of sight. Only to come back a few seconds later with two plates filled with leftovers from dinner, although a bit better presented and heated again.

"I don't want any," Hermione spoke determinedly, but Fred tutted at her. "Yes you do, that's the whole point of me bringing you to the kitchens," Fred countered, but Hermione shoved her plate away.

"I don't want laboured food," and at this Fred lightly chuckled. "You've been eating it the past five years, Hermione," he spoke matter of factly.

At this Dobby hopped on the bench beside them, a kind look on his face as he looked at Hermione. "It's not laboured work, Miss. You see, we all enjoy working here. The headmaster does treat us nice, oh yes he does. He even has me on a payroll, Miss." At this Hermione lightened up a little bit as she let Dobby explain further.

"So you mean to tell me I've been knitting for absolutely no reason?" Hermione whined a little as Dobby finished his story. At this the elf looked a little sheepish. "I didn't want to hurt your feelings, Miss. I know you mean well."

Hermione heaved a sigh, but then reached for the chicken, anyway. If the elves really liked their stay here, and she would be disrespectful by turning the food down – as Dobby had friendly told her – then she would just go ahead and grand their wishes.

"So, let me get this straight." Hermione said after swallowing down a piece of chicken, her gaze drifting over to Fred, who was finishing up his plate already. "Was all of today really necessary just to get me down here – to the kitchens?" Hermione asked, still feeling quite flustered.

"Of course, I had to grab your attention somehow," Fred smirked smugly. "Blimey Fred, you already catch my attention by simply existing. It's rather difficult to pretend you're not there, y'know,"

Fred grinned. "I feel flattered,"

Looking around the place, she saw some house-elves in the distance working to clean up some plates, and as soon as she finished hers, Dobby said his goodbye as he told them he'd be off to help them out, taking her plate along with him.

"Look," Fred started, a little bit more serious as he absent-mindedly tucked a stray hair behind her ear for her. "I brought you here because Harry told me about all the knitting you had done, and I figured you had to know what happened to it."

Hermione sighed, standing up and waiting for him to do the same. "I just can't believe I've been knitting for a whole year, and only now found out." At this Fred heartily laughed. "At least you got some delicious chicken to make up for it," He comforted, to which she let out a small chuckle as she shook her head.

Before they opened the door to go back to the common room, Hermione stopped in her tracks as she jabbed a finger into his chest. "Just-," Hermione began, cringing a little before continuing, "don't bang me in the common room tonight." Earning him a booming laughter from Fred, who shook his head as he calmed down.

"Don't you worry, Hermione," he said, a smirk popping on his lips. "My intentions are innocent," he soothed, then opened the door for her.

Before she could walk away, however, he grabbed her arm and tugged her closer, breathing into her ear. "For the most part, anyway." He chuckled, lightly hitting her on her arse as he slipped out of the kitchens before she could, laughing all the way as she chased after him.


	38. Away with the fairies

**Whispers in the dark**

**Chapter 38: Away with the fairies**

_**A/N: **__I own nothing except my mistakes. __**Also, **__sorry for the incredibly long wait! School has just started again, and it took a bit of time for me to get back into the flow of things. Anyway, it's really amazing to read your enthusiastic reviews on this story, so thank you so much for writing them! _

"Could you pass me the butter, please?" Hermione asked Ginny, the latter lazily looking up from her own piece of toast, clearly needing a moment to process what she had just asked before reaching for the butter herself and handing it to Hermione.

Smiling, she thanked the little witch as she buttered her own toast.

Weekend had finally enrolled, and yet they all hadn't gotten the long sleep-in that they may have wanted at Gryffindor, due to two mischief makers who claimed to have 'accidentally' lit an entire box of their firework stockage.

Speaking of which, those two were deeply conversing with Lee Jordan. Usually it wouldn't be the worst of things, besides them being a little too energetic for this time in the morning perhaps, but other than that it would have been fine.

Except that Fred was sitting right next to her. Now, that wasn't anything unusual either. Ever since their failed prank on her he had become closer to her and had sat next to her the more time passed, and especially now that they were in a relationship. Yet, since the three of them were so energetically conversing, Fred liked to use his limbs as extra measurement of expressing his excitement whenever talking about something they liked, and therefore she would be elbowed more times than she would have liked.

"Bloody hell, Fred, could you jab a little harder, maybe?" Hermione huffed sarcastically as she dropped her knife when he elbowed her exceptionally hard. It was almost beginning to feel like he was doing it on purpose.

"Now that," Ginny began, her long red hair falling gently around her face, "is a sentence I did not want to hear," the girl finished.

Hermione looked incredulously at her, taking in the quirky smile, her eyes scrunching together in almost the same mischievous way as her twin brothers. "Ginny!" Hermione exclaimed, but it was enough to get Fred's attention as he turned to her.

"Is it hot in here? Or is it just you?" Fred flirted, his eyes trailing up and down her face as he cocked a smug smirk. "Not doing that bloody thing again, are you?" Hermione groaned a little, though felt rather captivated by his glance.

He had a way of doing that – managing to catch your eyes and never being able to take them off again.

"You're on my list of things to do tonight," He countered, rather cheekily, though Hermione couldn't help but wince.

George erupted in laughter behind his brother, "As long as it's not in the bed next to mine," he piped in, making Hermione feel very hot and heavy in the face.

"I'm eating!" Ginny exclaimed in disgust, throwing a cherry tomato at both George and Fred, who managed to dodge them with a smile.

At this Hermione felt an arm gently snake around her back, but as she looked to her side she saw that Fred had already turned back to look at George and Lee Jordan to continue his conversation, all the while as he gently circled his hand around on her back.

It felt rather gentle, and so unlike how Hermione knew Fred to be on a daily basis. Sometimes it felt even so out of character for her, to see the sweet side of him, because over the past five years of knowing him, she had only known him as the jokester. It truly was still a bit unsettling sometimes to know he had a soft side. Even though he did like to use that as his advantage whenever he saw an opportunity to publicly tease her with it.

If there was one thing Hermione learned quick enough about Fred, is that he didn't like to get all sappy and romantic without reason. Sure, he'd display affection, but he preferred it to be light-hearted and flirtatious. Preferably with an audience. Because that's how he has always communicated – with an audience. If not strangers, then with his own twin brother.

Therefore, she also knew that whenever he would publicly do a romantic gesture, however big or small, wasn't just to tease her with it (although it was a big bonus) or because he 'wouldn't actually mean it' or anything like that. It was just an easier way for him to still be affectionate, but to not feel awkward about it. To not make it a bigger deal than it had to be sometimes.

In a way that was completely in contrast with Hermione. With private things like that she preferred to just keep it to her and Fred when no one could see. To her, it was actually awkward to display it in public, although she had gotten better at that already.

"What d'you say," Ginny spoke, ripping Hermione away from her thoughts. It was at that moment that Hermione noticed that Harry and Ron had joined their breakfast as well, both with equally ruffled hair. She doubted that either of them would ever care about their appearances first thing in the morning.

"I was thinking we could all go ahead and head to Hogsmeade today, y'know, loosen up from all the stress for a bit." Ginny proposed, and immediately got humming noises of approval. "Hear, hear!" George agreed, clinging his glass with Fred.

Hermione had to bend a little so she could look past Fred, but managed to grab George's eyes almost instantly. "You haven't even studied," she pointedly said, shaking her head in confusion.

At this Fred leaned back a little so she had a better view of George. "That's not the point, now is it, Freddie?"

"Can't say it is, Georgie." Fred agreed, grinning at his twin.

"D'you even know how hard it has been to watch you all hunch over those textbooks?" George said, feigning hurt as he pouted whilst bringing a hand to his chest.

"The burden we've been carrying," Fred chimed in.

"It has truly been unbearable," George sniffed in conclusion.

All Hermione could do was roll her eyes as she focused back on Ginny, who had exactly the same look on her face. "Sometimes it really is best to ignore them, you know," the redhaired witch advised.

Hermione grumbled, taking a quick bite of her toast. "Oh trust me, I wish I could," she spoke rather gloomily, to which she felt Fred's arm stiffen around her back before it snaked a little further so he could grab her side and pull her even further into him.

"Oh c'mon now, Hermione, don't be so mean," Fred pouted, though the glimmer in his eyes was ever so present. "We all know you wouldn't want to have it any other way."

Knowing there was honestly no right or wrong way to answer that without getting any weird glances from any one at the table, she opted to simply ignore that and instead change the subject.

"Everyone ready to head off to Hogsmeade?" Hermione inquired, glancing around at their group. They all looked rather finished. And to her pleasing it also looked like everyone was already properly dressed as well. That saved some waiting.

A few confirming murmurs were heard, so Hermione broke loose from Fred's snaked arm that automatically dropped to his side as soon as she turned her body sideways so she could get off the bench.

At this he turned his head lightly to hers, so she gave him a smile as she grasped his hand, giving it a bit of an affirming squeeze before releasing it again and rising up from her seat.

The lot followed suit, and they had made it as far as the Entrance Hall until George stopped in his tracks, resulting in everyone being forced to a halt seeing as he had been in front, and had literally spread out his arms to refrain them from getting any further.

"What's the matter?" Fred inquired, meeting his twin's eye. "D'you have any pocket money, Freddie?"

Fred – who had been standing next to Hermione – reached into his pocket, but retrieved it almost as quick as it had gotten in, shaking his head in the process.

"Give us a spare minute, won't you?" George excused them as the twins shot away from the group.

"_Can't believe I have to walk up all these bloody chairs again," _Fred complained, and Hermione had to bite back a smile as she joined Ginny, who had been leaning against the wall, still looking rather sleepy.

"How have you been, Gin?" Hermione asked, easing up her face as she shot her a smile. It must have been a bit boring for her. All fifth and seventh years were busy preparing for either O.W.L.s or N.E.W.T.s, so she hadn't been able to spend as much time with the people she would usually hang around with as usual. Including Hermione.

"It's been a bit boring, really, having no exams," Ginny said, then cocked her head to the side as she let out a lopsided grin. "Only joking, of course. It's been bloody great. I don't really envy you lot with all the studying."

At this Hermione laughed, shaking her head. "Just you wait, your time will come." She warned her.

"Oh, I know, I'm already dreading the day it does," Ginny said earnestly, causing Hermione to chuckle. "Bet you are."

"They really are taking their sweet time, aren't they?" Ron complained, hopping from one foot to another as if to keep himself comfortable whilst standing up.

"Can't you do your magic trick, 'Mione?" Harry proposed.

Hermione cocked him an amused eyebrow. "I'm certain there's a lot of magic tricks to do at a Magical School, Harry, although I'm not quite sure which one you're implying."

Harry rolled his eyes at her, knowing very well that she was teasing him. "Y'know what I mean. Ask Fred to hurry up, or something."

Hermione chuckled, but did as asked. "Fred?" She tried, but no response.

"_What's your name?"_ Hermione heard him ask, but knew that it was obviously not directed at her. He sounded quite serious as well.

"Well?" Ron asked, but Hermione lightly hushed him. "I dunno, he's not replying to me," Hermione spoke absent-mindedly as she focused back on Fred's voice.

"_See? I've got one too, so does George." _His voice sounded very gentle, almost soothing in a way. But to whom in Merlin's Name was he talking to?

"Are you sure your charm still works?" Ron asked again. "Oh, of course it does, Ron. I can hear him very well, but he's rather… occupied."

"_Y'see? It's not as bad as it seems." _Fred continued, and Hermione seriously wondered what in the world he was on about.

"Excuse me," Hermione said to the others as she began to walk away. "Hang on, where are you going?" Ginny called after her. "Just a second, I'm just going to look for them!" She called over her shoulder, before disappearing out of sight.

Now it seemed that they were actually really close by, because as soon as she walked onto the first floor she had already spotted them on a bench in the corridor, their voices low and soothing as they were hunched around the bench.

Who exactly was on that bench, she didn't know.

Thus she took a few slow steps in their direction, watching as both of their sleeves were lightly lifted up so that their hands we very visible. Along with all the scars from the many detentions they had gotten from Umbridge.

Upon a closer look she could see a small boy sitting between them, sniffing away as he looked at his own scarred hand. Hermione figured he must be a First Year by the state of his height. It was almost the same as she had been.

"The pain stops after a while," George comforted, and Fred chimed in with a "yeah, it really does."

At this the three boys spotted her, and Hermione felt it was a bit intruding if she just remained there and watched, and so she softened her features as she gave a small smile at the crying boy.

"You know," Hermione said, her voice soft and airy as she closed the gap, coming to stand behind Fred as she laid a hand on his shoulder. It made her feel a little less awkward to suddenly have interrupted their comforting spree. If she had known it was about this, she wouldn't have come.

"If these two are capable of saying such things, I'd really take their word for it." Hermione encouraged, enlarging her smile as the boy attempted to do the same.

"She truly is an awful woman, you know," Hermione went on, and watched in amusement as the boy exchanged surprised glances with the twins, as if unable to believe that _the _Hermione Granger was contradicting a teacher. "But don't you let her get to you. She is not worth all those tears,"

At this the little boy nodded, and propped them all a lopsided smile before hopping off the bench. "Thank you," he mumbled, and then walked away with the tiniest of a wave.

The twins, too, rose up, making Hermione's hand fall off Fred's shoulder, but she was quick to grab his hand instead. "That was really sweet of you guys," she approved, giving them both a genuine smile.

George took a quick glance at their intertwined hands, and then let a grin pop back on his face as he reached for Hermione's other hand as they began to walk.

"Oh, sod off, George, get your own girl," Fred huffed as he lightly pushed his brother away with his free hand, the latter laughing as they descended the stairs.

Although Hermione and Fred were in clear sight of the group, she didn't really feel like letting go of his hand, and thus firmly kept it there as they approached them. It's not like they hadn't held hands in front of them before. It had been done countless of times in one of their charades, although this time it was very real.

Come to think about it, so far only George had been the one to know about their relationship. And the others were either oblivious to it, or simply pretending like they weren't seeing anything. She made a quick mental note to ask one of her friends about it later.

\- x-

The trip to Hogsmeade had been very successful. Well, for the most part at least. The twins had gone straight off to Zonkos to buy some new products, whereas Harry had a date with Cho, and therefore only Hermione, Ron and Ginny remained together.

In both favour of the girls and Ron they had visited both Honeydukes Sweetshop and Madam Puddifoot's tea shop. Where they had also accidentally ran into Harry and Cho, the latter turning rather jealous as Harry and Hermione had gotten tangled into a conversation about a funny experience they've had together the first time they had visited this tea shop.

So when Harry asked Cho to come and join them all for a drink in the Leaky Cauldron, she had hastily replied as she left the shop.

With a bit of a sullen Harry they made their way to the Leaky Cauldron, where Fred and George were already waiting for them, happily feasting on some salty crackers as they sipped their Butterbeers.

Many more were ordered for the rest of them, and it had actually been a rather pleasant time of catching up with one another. Where they finally had a chance to talk about anything other than school.

They had slipped in such a deep argument about the use of a Remembrall – how exactly they had gotten to that subject, Hermione couldn't remember – that she hadn't even noticed that Fred had wrapped his arm around Hermione's shoulder, pulling her closely into him as they were all seated on benches in a far corner.

Hermione's feet were planted on the bench so her knees were against her chest, and she was simply enjoying the little side hug as her hand was casually resting on his chest, enjoying the sensation of it heaving up and down with every breath.

There had even been a part when Hermione had been so heavily into her argument, that she even managed to not notice the kiss he planted against the side of her forehead as he let out a hearty laugh at how heated she was getting into this.

At last, after a few too many butterbeers and even some fire whiskeys for the twins – they had, after all, officially passed the age of 18 just a month ago – they all headed out as the sun was already slowly starting to set. Clearly they had been in there way longer than intended.

As they were walking back to the castle, Hermione was still in a debate with Ginny about that Remembrall, both leading the group, until Hermione shot a quick glance over her shoulder to look for Fred, who had been eerily quiet; as well as George.

Fred popped her a reassuring smile, though swayed lightly on his feet. Clearly they had a drink or two too many as well.

Once back into the Gryffindor common room the twins had gone back to the dormitories to lay it off, and Harry and Ron had picked up a game of chess, finally able to play it after weeks.

Both Ginny and Hermione were seated near the fireplace, both engulfed in their reading. Although the difference was that Hermione was reading her Arithmancy book to study a little, and Ginny was simply reading the Daily Prophet from yesterday.

Hermione kept wondering why Ginny had suddenly lost interest in Fred and her. Before they were in a relationship the little witch would constantly be on their noses, practically demanding to know what was going on between them, and yet, since their relationship – even though it hadn't been announced to their friends – she hadn't said a word about it anymore.

As Hermione listened to Fred's light snores, she debated on confronting Ginny about it, until at last making up her mind as she slammed her book down a little bit more forcefully than intended.

"Aren't you going to ask me about Fred and I anymore?" Hermione asked, though Ginny didn't even so much as glance up from her newspaper.

"Well, that's obvious, isn't it?" The little witch casually replied, wetting her finger as she turned the page around, her eyes lazily scanning the letters.

Was it really, though?

"I mean, yeah, but it wasn't always like that," Hermione said in confusion, not understanding where Ginny's lack of interest had gone to.

"Yes, it was," Ginny said.

"What d'you mean? No it wasn't," Hermione defended, but all that Ginny did was chuckle as she finally put her newspaper down so she could properly look at her. "Perhaps not to you, but to all of us it was." Ginny chuckled, leaving Hermione absolutely flabbergasted.


	39. Do the Hippogriff

**Whispers in the dark**

**Chapter 39: Do the Hippogriff **

_**A/N: **__I own nothing except my mistakes_

Hermione couldn't believe that today marked the day that all her O.W.L.s had been examined, and she was now officially free to relax. She wasn't going to lie, those past two weeks of exams had been really rough, especially since she had taken eleven of them. It's not like she minded the studying, but there was only so much stress that one single person could handle, after all.

Naturally, they had all celebrated the ending of the O.W.L.s with a feisty dinner, and had even gone down to the lake with Harry and Ron to have a bit of water fun. It was only May, so not officially Summer yet, but they had truly been blessed with lovely weather these past few weeks. That was one thing that had made the stressful times a lot more bearable.

Yet, after all the partying and relief, Hermione really needed a moment to herself to simply think things over.

Since the O.W.L.s were now officially gone, it had also marked the upcoming end of their Fifth Year. But not just the end of Hermione's Fifth Year. No, Fred and George were currently in their Seventh Year, and whether the two of them would stick around for their graduation or not, it didn't really matter, for they would not return to Hogwarts next year either how.

That primary thought had made her leave the party early, having slipped away from the dancing students locked inside the Gryffindor Tower, and had driven her to the only place she could imagine to find some peace without anyone being able to find her quickly: The Astronomy Tower.

Bonus were the stars she could gaze at, of course.

Come to think about it, she had never really taken a moment to _truly _think it all over, all that has happened the past two years. Sure, she had had brief intervals where she'd think about it for a bit, but never had she really put it into perspective before.

Wasn't it strange to think that such a simple mistake, a prank gone wrong, could have such a lasting impact?

At first she had been blazing mad, of course. Not so much about the failed prank, per se, but more so about the fact how reckless they had been. Testing a product on a human without knowing whether the ingredients complied with one another.

They had been lucky it had been such an 'innocent' fail. For all they had known they could have seriously poisoned her, or even worse, have killed her. Magic was a dangerous thing to play around with, even for the twins who were far from stupid.

Of course, once she had overcome her shock and her fury, she had come around and actually began to see the advantage in it. Perhaps that was just because it grew on you after all. Especially now after two years, she could not imagine a time where she wouldn't be hearing Fred's voice all the time. Even now, when he was loudly singing along with some kind of song they were playing in the Gryffindor Tower. Those two were always up for a party, even if they hadn't worked for it themselves.

It also struck her as intriguing that if it hadn't been for their failed prank, that Fred and her would probably never have had this strong friendship that they had now. Let alone a bloody relationship.

At that Hermione let out a soft chuckle, accompanied by a sharp inhalation of fresh air as she let her eyes glide to the sky above her, the stars twinkling off in the distance. Perhaps it wasn't so bad that Summer hadn't arrived yet, at least now she still had a starry skyline to look at in her reveries.

For a moment Hermione also wondered what it would have been liked if it hadn't been Fred's hair that had been used for the potion two years ago, but instead George's hair.

There was no denying that George was the more gentle and empathic twin of them both. Sure, he was as much of a prankster as Fred, but George knew when to cross a line or not, whereas Fred liked to test his limits. More often than not, it was George who managed to keep Fred from falling over that line completely.

Perhaps things would have been a little bit more quiet, perhaps even a little bit more romantic.

Then again, as much as Fred was in contrast to Hermione, it was the one thing that she needed now that she had it. Sure, George would've been less of a hectic boyfriend, but the thing with him would be that he would be in between being serious and a prankster all the time. Enough to drive Hermione insane, probably.

Perhaps Hermione and Fred worked so well, _because _they were on complete opposite sides. It made it easier to cross when convinced to do so. It was all or nothing, and it helped her a lot to loosen up. Because when she crossed that line, she wouldn't just dip one single toe into the waters, no her entire body would be engulfed. She wouldn't just get a single taste of what it would be like, no, she'd be forced to experience it with every sense of her body.

Maybe that was the reason why she didn't really feel like partying right now. Because she knew that when this year ended, everything would change. It did every year, of course. It was inevitable with a best friend like Harry Potter, but this time it felt bigger. More meaningful.

Could it have been because she was now in a relationship? It might only have been four months of it so far, but there was no doubt it would heavily influence her next schoolyear. How in the world were they even going to do a long distance relationship? She hadn't even thought about that.

"Fred?" Hermione tried, hoping he would be able to hear her over his own loud yelling. That boy was really heavily into it as he was blasting _"Spin around like a crazy elf!"_ from The Weird Sisters, a song that had also been playing at the Yule Ball.

To her relief his voice died out, and sounded a little bit more civilized as he replied to her. _"How can I help you, my dearest Hermione?" _

Rolling her eyes, she let a smile glide on her lips as she leaned on the wooden railing, lazily letting her gaze drift to the ground below her. "You never told me how or when you'd be setting up that joke shop," Hermione said, almost feeling the need to speak softer as she heard her voice echo around the empty room.

"_What's got your wand in a twist?" _Fred asked, though sounded a little distracted as he also yelled _"Atta Georgie!" _right after that.

Hermione shrugged, but then realised he couldn't see that. It was easy to forget sometimes. "Just thinking about next year, I guess."

At this she could hear a soft tutting. _"You should think less, Hermione." _Fred advised, though this time he sounded a little bit more focused. _"Where are you, anyway? I can't spot you." _

Smirking, she mockingly tutted at him. "It disappoints me that you hadn't notice me slip away from that party like half an hour ago."

"_Hermione Jean Granger, get your arse back here and have some fun," _Fred commanded, but Hermione politely declined.

"I'm serious Fred, we never really talk about next year." She insisted, and waited with bated breath for his reply as he tuned in with the singing again.

A little out of breath, he finally replied. _"I know you're serious, that's why I'm trying to get you back here. It will do you no good, all that thinking, y'know?" _

That boy still had _a lot _to learn about Hermione Granger. Thinking was basically her middle name.

"_For real, 'Mione, where in the bloody castle are you?" _Fred tried again, and this time it was Hermione's turn to remain quiet.

"Somewhere nice and quiet," she at last spoke, stretching out her arms high above her head in the process, getting a little tight from all that hunching over the railing.

At this Fred began to sing along loudly again, and she figured that that was the signal for the ending of their conversation.

Heaving a sigh, she adjusted the hairclip at the back of her head, pulling strings of her hair back into it as the wind had messed it up a bit. Usually she wasn't one to do much with her hair, but after all the splashing at the lake this afternoon with Ron and Harry, her hair had become rather uncontrollable, and the only way to not make it puff out or look hideous when putting it up in a ponytail, was to simply stick the sides of her hair back.

As she listened to Fred switching to a new song, all the while as he encouraged Ron to do something that Hermione was quite certain of that he really shouldn't, she began to wonder if perhaps Fred had been cutting off their conversation because he didn't plan on keeping their relationship next year.

That thought put her in a rather gloom mood as her eyes remained fixated on the Great Lake resting in the far distance, the cold breeze stinging to her face, making her eyes water.

In fact, she had been so lost in thoughts, that she hadn't even processed the lack of speech or singing from Fred, much less the footsteps that had stopped behind her, until a certain someone softly cleared their throat.

Wheeling around in fear, she let out a shaky breath as she saw a long, slim boy smiling back at her. His hands lazily propped in his pockets, the pants hanging a little shabbily around his legs. The hair, ruffled and pressed a little too far to the back, as if he had ran his hands through it a few too many times.

"How did you find me?" Hermione stuttered when she regained her breath.

Fred simply kept her gaze, his eyes slowly trailing down until they landed on the side of her hair. "I like the change of hairstyle, it looks good on you." He pointed out.

Willing herself to not blush, she opted for a different conversation as she popped him a challenging eyebrow. "Seriously, how did you? This would have been the last place to come and find me. It's why I chose this."

At this Fred grinned as he pulled something out of his back pocket, revealing an old and smudged piece of parchment. She recognized it all too well, though, for she had seen Harry carrying it many times. "I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good," Fred articulated, tapping the piece of parchment, and watched as the lines began to reappear on the parchment.

"Knicked it from Harry's trunk, I doubt he'll mind," Fred explained as he made his way over to stand by her side.

"How come I haven't heard you use that map?" Hermione implored, to which he gave her a cocky smile. "Because I'm brilliant, that's why."

Groaning, she shook her head. "Why do you always dodge my questions," Hermione complained as she heard the bubble of a laugh form before it even articulated through his mouth. "When you were so sappily babbling on, I whispered the magic words as soft as I could."

Astonished, she felt a proud smile creep on her face as she kept her gaze firmly on his face. There was a bit of mud on his cheek, as well as a damp spot on his shirt, as if he had spilled his drink there. "That's really clever," she approved.

"Why always the surprise?" He mocked his hurt, but cut it off quickly as he followed with an earnest smile.

"So what's got your little pretty brain all up in a frenzy?" Fred asked, a hint of airiness to it. He clearly hadn't come because he necessarily wanted to talk about serious and emotional things. Yet, he had come anyway, and for that she was grateful. It was a note-worthy action, one that separated him from his usual selfish interactions.

Chuckling, she averted her eyes back to the grounds, watching in awe as the Giant Squid popped its massive head out of the lake, the water dripping slowly off its skin, the moonlight giving it a soft glimmer.

"The schoolyear is almost ending," she commenced, to which Fred wittily replied with "Well spotted, very clever observation indeed."

Sticking her tongue out, he released a hearty laugh as he did the same. "Anyway, I was wondering-," It was rather difficult for her to address her feelings, "I mean-," she stuttered on, "Y'know-,"

"Oh, spit it out already," Fred intervened.

"Oh all right," Hermione said, trying to get a hold of herself. "D'you still see… us… together, after the Summer?"

At this Fred turned serious, his eyebrows furrowing together as he nibbled on his bottom lip. Having a good think about it, it took him a while before he turned his gaze back to hers, although she didn't dare meet his eyes. The fact that he had to take so long to think couldn't have meant anything good, and thus she kept her gaze lowered.

"No, definitely not." Well ouch, that was a little harsh. Couldn't he at least have sugar-coated it a little? She knew Fred was the less empathic one, but she also knew it to be true that he wasn't completely insensitive.

Biting on the inside of her cheek as she began to feel a heavy weight in her chest, she was amazed to hear him lightly chuckle. Was this all a joke to him?

Without waiting a second longer, he propped her chin so she was forced to look at him. "I would rather have you during the Summer. Afterwards it's a rather awful long time, really."

Staggered, she stood gaping like a fish before finally hitting him a couple of times against the chest with her fists. "Fred Weasley," she spoke through gritted teeth, "how dare you scare me like that?"

Laughter boomed through the empty building, echoing down the stairs. "What?" He spoke innocently, "You asked me whether we would still be together _after _the Summer. Not my fault you made such a terrible miscalculation."

Why again did she choose Fred Weasley of all people?

"You're such an arse," Hermione huffed as she dropped her arms back to her sides. Naturally, Fred laughed again, this time a little bit more smug as he went to stand behind her.

If she thought this was some sort of romantic gesture, she had been terribly wrong. "Not so much of a great arse as yours," Fred flirted, his hands trailing from her stomach to her buttocks, making Hermione yelp out and wheel around.

"Excuse you," Hermione said, appalled.

Cocking her a wicked eyebrow, he simply dared her to disagree with his next words. "Merely stating facts, 'Mione."

Absolutely flustered, she turned her back to him again, shaking her head furiously as she let out a shaken chuckle. "Why do you even like me?" Hermione asked earnestly.

The warmth behind her back was soon replaced with a cold space as Fred moved back beside her. "I dunno, must have been all your endless nagging that had gotten me absolutely smitten by you," Fred charmed, a matching smile going along with it.

"I mean it, Fred. I'm not funny like you are, nor even as physically competent as you." Hermione reasoned. At this he gave her an amused eyebrow. "Physically competent?" He asked, a wicked grin on his face.

"Yeah, y'know, all this touching… it's still new to me. I know it's normal, but-," Hermione stopped herself there, feeling her cheeks redden up again.

Wiggling his eyebrows, he turned her body so it now faced his. "Ah, but you see, I quite like a scaredy-cat whenever I try to express my endless feelings," Fred drawled, a dangerous flicker glowing behind his eyes.

Groaning even louder, she felt herself becoming a little frustrated. "Why can you never be serious?"

"Where's the fun in that?" Fred countered, his face contorting a bit in disgust at the thought of it.

Hermione was about to give up and walk away, but he held her firmly by his wrist. "Look," he began, "I don't care that you're still new to it. I am serious, it's quite endearing to watch the brightest witch of our age squirm at the most simplest of things."

"I was serious the other day, when I said I could be your guinea pig. I don't mind getting experimented on," At this a wide smirk spread on his face. "In fact, I think it would even be kinda hot."

Hermione had to try with all her might to not show the discomfort on her face. Why in the world did he hav to be her first? The one person who enjoyed her misery?

"You know," Hermione said, finding her voice. "I do hope you didn't come here to get some… action."

Fred chuckled at her choice of words. "Pity," he said simply, "The Room of Requirements would have made for a wicked goodbye." Fred spoke suggestively, a licking of his lips accompanied with it as his eyes tauntingly scrunched together.

Unable to help but laugh, she lightly shook her head as she shook her arm a little so he would let go of her wrist.

Looking down, she watched her fingers gently trail over his skin, a little scrubby and dirty from all the gun powder he had been using on a daily basis. Taking his hand in hers, she slowly brought up her eyes to meet his as she let her other hand rest on his chest.

"It will be weird, not having you around next year." Hermione spoke softly, her voice almost carried away with the wind. If it hadn't been for their linked hearing, he might not have heard her at all.

Fred's smirk eased up, a warm smile now taking its place, though the ends were ever so lightly quirked up. "Trust me, it will be like I haven't even left." It sounded almost like a promise. Yet, she didn't know whether that scared her or not. It was Fred Weasley she was talking to, after all.

Feeling his heart continue to beat in a slow and steady pace, she moved her hand a little higher up until it could encircle around his neck.

Raising herself up on her tippy toes, he automatically dipped his head a little as she gave some light pressure behind his neck. It was just enough for her to be able to reach his lips, carefully at first, but then intensified it as she pushed down a little harder, almost hungrily keeping him close as their hands broke loose, each of them clasping for each other's waist, tugging lightly on their clothes.

This time Fred did manage to slip his hand underneath her shirt, as she had changed back into her normal clothes when her school robes had become wet.

Shivering, she felt his cold fingers going over her spine, putting just enough pressure to almost make it feel like a gentle massage. His fingertips lightly dug themselves into her skin, but before either of them could get lost in their actions, and for that matter even resort to the Room of Requirements as he had proposed earlier on, she softly broke apart their kiss, planting one soft one afterwards as a finish. "You better not, Fred Weasley," Hermione whispered, a smile on her lips as she rested her head into his chest.


	40. So long, my lover

**Whispers in the dark**

**Chapter 40: So long, my lover**

_**A/N: **__I own nothing except my mistakes. __**Also, **__for this chapter I kind of used book and movie events and just mingled them together a bit in my own way. Hope no one is too bothered by it! I'm also quite sorry to say that this won't be too long of a chapter, because most events that are happening are already explained in detail in the books and the movies, and I feel like Fremione has little part in this. Next chapter will be full-on Fremione again!_

It had gone by quicker than Hermione had been able to process. One moment they had been practising the Reductor curse at one of their DA meetings, and the next the whole room was shaking – quite literally so – as the walls had come crumbling down.

They had been ratted out by Cho Chang, or at least that's what they had assumed upon seeing her with the Inquisitorial Squad; supporters of Umbridge.

To top it off, that very same night after Dumbledore made his grand escape from Hogwarts, leaving the place vulnerable with only Umbridge to rule it, Harry had had one of his nightmares again where he claimed that Sirius Black was in danger.

Though he had been right once before with Arthur, she doubted if he would be every time. If Harry managed to find out that Voldemort and him were connected, how long would it have taken Voldemort to figure it out himself as well?

For all they knew it was a trap to lure Harry out of the safe walls that Hogwarts provided, and get him in a place where he was defenceless.

And thus Hermione had advised him to first reach out to Sirius Black to see if he was actually in danger, or if Voldemort had been playing with their connection. If it turned out he was all right, then Harry could just remain at Hogwarts where he would be safe. If not, they'd have to try and find another way to get to Sirius Black.

How exactly they would do that they didn't know yet.

It was for that reason that they needed a bit of a plan. After all, the only way to reach Sirius Black was through Floo Network, and it so happened that the only available Floo Network at Hogwarts was located in Umbridge's office. Not so much of an easy task to get into.

"Listen, we need to get into Umbridge's office," Hermione said to the twins, after finally having found them in a deserted corridor trying to prank Filch. She had been running around the castle for ages now, and had feared they would be hiding out in one of their secret passageways.

It's not like she could ask Harry, as he was being constantly watched by the Inquisitorial Squad. Ever since the discovery of DA yesterday, they hadn't left his side for a single second, hoping to catch him in another act.

By talking to the twins she had hoped to broaden her ideas. It was no secret they knew the castle better than anyone else, and besides, they had a knack for mayhem and rebelling. Surely they'd be able to come up with a clever idea to get them inside.

"Are there any secret passageways leading into her office?" She proposed, but both twins shot her a pitiful grin.

"Passageways, into an office?" George asked mockingly.

"Amateur," Fred scoffed, though gave her a warm, teasing smile to make up for it.

Usually she wouldn't mind the joke, but considering that time was of essence, she wasn't really having it at the moment.

"Boys, I need you to be serious for one second here. People could die if you're not," Well, she wasn't quite sure if that was actually true, but she wasn't sure either if it wouldn't be, and thus she felt in reason to be able to say that.

At this the grins fell off their faces almost simultaneously. "What's the matter?" Fred was the first to inquire, and thus Hermione gave him a brief explanation about Harry's dream.

George popped his arms across his chest, a deep frowning settling into his forehead as he thought her question over for a bit.

"I do suppose there is a way," His voice trailed off as he looked at his twin brother.

They were having one of their moments again as they suddenly became very immersed with one another.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Freddie?"

"If it is what I'm thinking then I sure do, Georgie," (at this Hermione shot Fred an incredulously stupefied look)

"I'm thinking our time has come."

"I think so, too," Fred beamed, a hint of mischief lacing his words.

Looking expectantly at the two of them, she raised an eyebrow in question. "Well, are you two going to include me in the fun?"

Fred closed the gap between them with one big stride as he draped his arm around her shoulder, pulling her a little closer into him. "Let's just say we're not sticking around for graduation," Fred explained.

At this Hermione took a big step back, forcing his arm off her shoulder. "D'you mean-,"

"Yes, it's been coming for a while," Fred jumped in, already knowing what she was about to say.

Biting on her lip, she knew she didn't have a lot of time to waste. If Sirius really was in danger, they would need every second that they had to save him.

Deciding to make it quick, she heaved a small sigh as she closed the gap once more, laying her hands on his chest so she could hear the steady drum of his heart. Closing in on his face so she could capture his lips, she hummed in approval as he returned the kiss with as much passion as she had started it.

It felt a bit odd to have such a quick and abrupt goodbye, but she knew that it was what needed to be done. Besides, the vacations were almost starting. It wasn't the end of the world. She would see him again.

With that motivational thought she broke lose, a smile stretched on her lips as he returned the favour.

It was almost a romantic moment, until George chimed in with "Where's my kiss?", making Hermione stuck out his tongue at him, and Fred charge at him whilst making kissing sounds.

Knowing they could go ahead and tease the hell out of each other for days on end, she put a quick stop to it by calling out their names and tapping her wrist, as if reminding them of the time.

"Right, we just need to fetch our stuff," George said.

"Meet us on the third floor in fifteen minutes, all right?" Fred proposed, and Hermione nodded in agreement. "All right, I'll be off to fetch Harry and Ron."

At this they both parted ways, them going up to the Gryffindor Tower, and Hermione off to Hagrid's Hut. She remembered him telling her that he'd go down there with Ron, to see if they could perhaps spread a message through Hagrid.

And so down she ran, taking as big of a stride as her legs would allow her to. Fifteen minutes wasn't much for such a big castle like Hogwarts, especially if you had to go all the way down the grounds to Hagrid's Hut, but it seemed like Hermione had been in luck. She had only gone down three floors when she had stumbled across Ron and Harry, about to turn a corner, clearly trying to shake off Crabbe and Goyle that were helplessly looking around themselves as they had been left in a stray corridor.

Picking up her pace, she was happy to find a forgotten quill laying on the ground and quickly fetched it, aiming for a good throw in the opposite direction, in the hopes to alure Crabbe and Goyle there.

It was the simplest trick in the book, and yet they fell for it without so much as a second-thought. Sometimes it did come in very handy indeed that they had little to no brains to use.

With their distraction, she hurriedly made for the corridor that Ron and Harry had slipped into, and was rather out of breath as she came face to face with them. "There you are," Hermione panted, needing a moment to regain her breath before she could speak again. She was not used to running, at all.

"You need to come with me," Hermione pressed as soon as she had taken a sharp inhalation of breath. At this both boys rudely shushed her. "Oh, for Merlin's Sake, they're not on your tail anymore. I lured them away a minute ago."

At this the boys visibly relaxed. "What is it?" Harry dared to ask, knowing now that there were no spying ears.

"It's Fred and George, they've thought about something." At this she turned on her heel, but stopped after a couple of feet when she didn't hear them following for. "Well, what are you waiting for?" Hermione asked incredulously, looking over her shoulder.

"Are you sure we can trust them with this?" Harry carefully asked, but Ron was a little bit more blunt. "They aren't exactly the most reliable ones, you know."

At this Hermione growled lowly. "Oh for goodness sake, you two, they're risking expulsion for this. Now come on and get moving, or do you not want to save Sirius anymore?"

This was enough to trigger Harry's feet into walking, and it didn't take longer than a second for Ron to follow him as well.

Making their way up two floors, they arrived almost at the same time as Fred and George did.

"Good, you're here," George observed, slightly huffing as he carried a ridiculous amount of boxes under his arms, only just able to peek over them.

"Yeah, mind sharing a hand?" Fred huffed through his words as he carried even more boxes, them all dangerously balanced on each other, ready to topple off.

Hermione was the first to reach Fred's side, and helped to get half of the boxes off of him. Luckily for George Harry had followed Hermione's example, and now the twins were free to move around and set their plan in action.

"So, mind telling us what you're planning?" Ron chimed in, curiously looking at the great amount of boxes.

The twins flashed a grin at each other. "We're so delighted you ask, little brother," Fred began.

"You see, whilst you three sneak into our beloved Umbridge's office," George continued.

"We will be setting off our entire collection of Portable Swamp to distract the lot," Fred explained.

"A bit painful to see all our hard-work go up in flames," George added, a bit gloomily so.

"But, some sacrifices need to be made." Fred concluded.

"Right," Hermione said, planning on putting a stop to that conversation before they would waste any more valuable time. "And what are you going to do then?"

Fred offered her a soft smile. "Test our talents out in the real world, of course."

Before the two of them could have a moment, Harry had piped in. "Right, but I need you and Hermione to stay put, though." He said, addressing first Ron and then Hermione.

"What?" Ron asked in confusion, but Hermione knew what Harry was getting on about. Always the same ignorant idea. "Don't be ridiculous, Harry. We're going with you."

"When are you going to get it through your thick head? We're in this together." Hermione pressed, then nodded at the twins. "Ready?"

"Ready," the twins chorused.

With that Fred gave Hermione's hand a quick squeeze, before grabbing all their boxes once more and running off into the distance. Now, they just had to wait until the twins had put their plan of action into work, and then the three of them would be able to slip into Umbridge's office.

It didn't take longer than a minute until a loud banging came from a bit further in the distance. That was their que to make a run for it, and use the heavy fog that the Portable Swamp had created as their cover to sneak into the office.

The Inquisitorial Squad had left their guarding position as they had heard them chokingly run away, ready to find the source of action.

"_Ready, George?" _Hermione heard Fred say as soon as the trio had closed the door behind them. Not a second later the entire castle got filled with such a bang, that could only be described as a canon or a heavy set of firework. Hermione was desperately hoping that the twins' had opted for the latter.

Without time to waste they sprinted over to the fireplace, Harry quick to drop some Floo Powder into the fire, but before he could even reach out to Sirius, the door opened behind them, a heavy set of smoke following.

"Hem hem," a nasty, high-pitched voice coughed. Brilliant, the last person they had wanted to meet.

"I figured someone must have made a run for it, after that peculiar ruse," Umbridge explained, a sickening sweetness to her voice as her thin lips stretched painfully into the smallest of a smug smile. Absolutely loathing, she was, to look at.

The victory that the trio had felt just a second ago had been washed away quickly, as Umbridge called loudly for her set of followers.

They were quick to come in and fetch the three of them, their nails digging into their skin as they held onto their arms tight.

Harry had been the only one to be sitting in a chair, ready to be questioned by Umbridge, almost forcefully so, if it hadn't been for Hermione coming up with a quick lie about Dumbledore's secret weapon.

Well, now she had done it. Now she had only needed to think quick on her feet to get Umbridge alone so they could shake her off and try to get to the Ministry themselves. There was no time anymore to check in with Sirius. They needed to do something, now.

_**A/N: **__I almost never end chapters with an author's note, but I just wanted to conclude this chapter here by saying that the rest will play out as it has done so in the book and movies. Considering it will not be contributing to Fred and Hermione's romance, I decided to cut it here. Like this, we can get straight back into the romance next chapter. Stay tuned!_


	41. Polka dots

**Whispers in the dark**

**Chapter 41: Polka dots**

_**A/N: **__I own nothing except my mistakes. __**Also, **__I didn't have the time to elaborate on it in this chapter, but I've decided to spare Sirius, and thus he'll live on! Upcoming chapters you'll probably won't see or hear much from him, but just know that he survived, and that you will be seeing him again sometime soon. Thank you all who follow this story, and to all of you who leave reviews! I really appreciate that! :)_

"Did you pack the brownies I baked for the Weasleys, dear?" Hermione heard her mother call from the kitchen through the loud thuds of her heavy trunk bouncing off the staircase as she descended it. It had been a month into the summer vacation, and Hermione had been able to practically leave her trunk packed since they had gotten back from France two days ago, as she would now be leaving for the Weasleys, to spend the remainder of her holidays there.

Usually she wouldn't go this early, it was only July after all. In the previous years when she did go, it would be somewhere around August, but she supposed that being in a relationship with a Weasley now did change a thing or two. It was on his request, really, that she had come a month earlier. Not that she minded it in the slightest.

"Yes, I did, thanks mum." Her voice was a little breathless, she had packed a few too many books in that trunk of hers. Besides, she had to be careful with her trunk, because she didn't want all of its contents be smeared with brownies.

She did appreciate her mom baking for the Weasleys, though. She knew that her mother sometimes felt a bit guilty by letting her stay for so long at another family, and thus she always found a way to make something or buy something to sort of repay for her stay there. It was very thoughtful, indeed.

"Are you sure we don't need to drive you there?" Her father asked, his nose popping slightly above the newspaper he was holding, his legs casually crossed on top of one another as he was hunched over the dining table.

Shaking her head, she placed her trunk by the fireplace and then made her way back to the kitchen again.

"No, I'll be all right. I'll be using the fireplace," at that her parents shared a look, still not used to all the magical things Hermione could do, but they smiled regardless. "Rather you than me," her father joked, and Hermione gave a light chuckle.

Hermione hadn't told her parents about her relationship with Fred yet. Neither had he told his parents. She hadn't felt the need to do so yet, since they had only been together for a couple of months now. They hadn't even gotten the chance to explore in it much, considering everything that had happened.

"I'll be off, then," Hermione announced, and gladly accepted her mother's outstretched arms, giving her a good squeeze as her mother kissed her cheek. "Give them my best," her mother said as she parted from the hug, giving her father a chance to take Hermione into his arms. "Will you be back for Christmas?" His father asked, but Hermione shrugged.

"I dunno yet, I'll write about that." She knew they didn't mind if she wouldn't come home for Christmas, and knew it was just to ask whether they could plan a holiday off to warmer country around that time. Neither of her parents like the cold much.

As her father nodded, she gave them one last wave before shrinking her luggage and stepping into the fireplace, using the Floo Network to safely guide her to the Burrow.

Coughing, she waved the dust away as she arrived on her designated location, stepping out of a bigger fireplace than she had entered, and quickly enlarged her trunk again, not wanting the brownies to get mushed.

"Oh, hey Hermione, didn't know you'd be arriving already," a voice came from the corner of the room. Turning her head a little to the side, she was greeted with the sight of a small witch propped in an armchair a little to the side, a set of purple striped pyjamas still clinging to her small frame even though it was well in the evening, a Wizard magazine lazily dangling between her hands.

Taking a quick scan around the living room, she noticed it was eerily quiet for a house that usually contained so many family members. "Hey Gin," Hermione greeted as she led her eyes fall back on the redheaded girl.

"Where's everyone?" Hermione asked as she laid her trunk on the couch, clipping it open to retrieve the brownies out of it. It would make her feel a lot better if she wasn't constantly worried that the brownies would ruin her books.

"Lemme think," Ginny mumbled, a frown settling in her forehead. "Mum's off in the garden," she began, keeping count on her fingers as she presumably checked whether she would list everyone, "Dad's off to the Ministry, had a bit of an urgent matter. Dunno what for, though."

"Ron's been stuck in his room all day, and Fred and George have been gone since early in the morning to work on their new joke shop." Ginny quickly checked her fingers to see if she really had listed all the family members, and then nodded in confirmation.

"They've been gone an awful lot ever since they got back from Hogwarts. They had been quick to find an empty shop, though they refuse to tell me how they got the money." At this Ginny squinted her eyes at Hermione. "You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"

Chuckling, Hermione shook her head. "It's not my place to say," but Ginny quickly waved her off. "Boring."

"Hang on, are those brownies?" Ginny asked, only now spotting the brownies Hermione was holding, and quickly disregarded her magazine, jumping out of the chair. "Lemme have one," she said, but Hermione teasingly held the tray up higher.

"Oh, c'mon, 'Mione, don't be mean." The little witch whined, and with a chuckle Hermione gave in, letting her have one before making her way to the kitchen.

A strong smell of their dinner hit her nostrils, and Hermione checked the clock on the wall to see that it was already eight in the evening. Clearly the Weasleys ate later than she did at home, especially in the Summer. It was easy to get lost in time these days when the sun stuck around longer.

Placing the tray of brownies on the dining table, she was sure that the Weasleys would find it just fine, and shot a quick look through the kitchen windows, spotting a dot of redhair in the distance, hunched over a set of plants as the woman vigorously tucked at them, ridding them of weeds.

Smiling to herself, she made her way to the living room and placed the trunk back on the ground next to the couch so she could plop herself on it. "When will the twins be back?" Hermione asked, watching in amusement as Ginny was happily gulfing on her brownie, her fingers all sticky as it had melted slightly in her hands.

"They'll be back in a few, I s'pose. They're late home nowadays. Off early in the morning, and home late in the night." Before Hermione had a chance to reply, a voice wheeled in her head. _"Are you at the Burrow already?" _

It's not like Hermione hadn't heard Fred bickering all day with George about where to put things, because she had, so to suddenly hear him to talk to her wasn't necessarily a surprise, but it did caught her off guard a little as she had tuned him out as best as she could, unable to bear another argument on whether the cabinet should be placed on the left or right side of the entrance.

"Yes, I am," Hermione said accusingly. He had invited her over this early, after all, and now he was nowhere to be seen. "What?" Ginny asked, a genuine look of confusion on her face. "Fred," Hermione explained simply.

"_Blimey, is it this late already? Sorry, 'Mione, we'll be there in a bit." _Fred apologised, his voice sounding a bit hurried as if he was in a rush.

Since Ginny already knew about their connection, she hadn't felt the need to lie about it. It did make it a little easier now that she wouldn't have to cover it up whenever she spoke to him.

"Have you been sitting in your pyjamas all day?" Hermione asked, a little amused as the girl laid diagonally in her armchair, her legs dangling on the arms of it.

The girl smirked, eerily resembling Fred's whenever he was in a cocky mood, and gave a simple nod. "Of course I am, perks of the holidays." At this both girls let out a laugh, Hermione shaking her head. "I do suppose you're right."

Not even a few seconds had passed by as they heard a soft clicking from the kitchen, as if a door had been opened.

Hermione expected to find Molly there, as she had been working in the garden, but instead she was met with two tufts of red hair, both carrying equally grimy faces from all the dust and dirt, along with a matching grin.

"Haven't started the party without us, have you?" Fred spoke as he entered the living room, making a beeline for her. Standing up, she took him into his arms, giving him a tight squeeze as she breathed in his musky scent.

It felt good to see him, especially after having had such an abrupt goodbye at Hogwarts a month ago. Although that month felt like it had lasted way longer. It was quite difficult to be able to constantly hear him, but not to see him or touch him.

Breaking apart slightly from the hug, he dipped his head lower so he could land a soft kiss on her lips, earning him a loud scowl from his little sister. "Ew, carry that upstairs, would you?"

At this Fred smirked, an arm casually resting on Hermione's back as they broke loose from their hug. "We might just go ahead and do that, little sister," Fred teased, making Ginny's face contort in disgust at the thought of it.

"Oh, come on, where's my grand welcome?" George whined in the back, but a grin quickly replaced it. "No worries, you're welcome to join in on the fun tonight," Both brothers laughed, but Hermione furrowed her eyebrows at him in disbelief. "Honestly, boys.." She lightly complained, making Fred squeeze her side a bit.

Fred positioned himself a little better, but in the process he knocked over her trunk, a loud rattling noise following it as it hit the ground with a big thud. Grimacing, she shot a look down at it. "Oh no, my books."

Hurriedly she picked up her trunk, but Fred was quick to take her trunk out of her hands. "Haven't brought it up yet?" He inquired, and Hermione shook her head.

"Well come on then," he said, leaving the three of them in the living room as he made ways for the stairs, a smile on his face as he shot a backward glance at her.

Releasing a squeal, she found herself being lifted from the ground by a sudden force, and watched in horror as her view distorted from straight to upside down. Watching her own feet dangling in the air, she held on for dear life to George's body as he tried to carry her up the stairs over his shoulder, wobbling in the process.

"Put me down, George," Hermione ordered, but her words were empty as a laugh followed. Squealing once more as he almost slammed her head into the wall passing a corner to go up one more floor, completely skipping Ginny's bedroom, where she had thought they would go to.

Now that they had made it to the second floor, George carefully put her down with a laugh as they had reached their bedroom, and Hermione came back up to see Fred grinning at them from his bed. "You look a little flustered, 'Mione," Fred teased, earning him a scowl.

"I almost got beheaded," Hermione complained, hesitantly lingering in the doorway as George made his way to his own bed, falling down on it with a content sigh as he stretched out his limbs. "Now that, is a grand exaggeration," George's voice came out a little strained as he said this whilst stretching, his voice going a bit pitchy in result of it.

"I beg to differ," Hermione huffed, but smiled nonetheless.

"Are you going to keep standing there, or will you join me?" Fred asked, positioning himself on his bed so he was now leaning his back against the end of it, his legs propped up to leave a bit of space for her to sit on.

"I'm warning you," George began, "as soon as you two start to shag, I'll be running out of here."

Fred laughed loudly, "You'd be welcome to stay," at this both George and Hermione grimaced. "No one's shagging anyone here."

She hadn't heard such a booming laugh in ages as George immediately lighted up again, sitting up a bit straighter now. "So you mean to tell me I've put on clean underwear for nothing then?" Fred said, laughing harder as Hermione was about to turn away turning completely scarlet in the process.

"All right, all right, please come back," Fred laughed, and Hermione reluctantly turned back around and joined him on the bed, making sure to stay out of reach, earning her a big grin.

Of course it didn't stop Fred's long arms, and within seconds he opened his legs so he could reach through to get to her, pulling her into him with quite some force, until she ended with her back against his chest, his legs now lazily stretched out in front of him.

George looked smug, but to her relief he made no comment as he allowed Fred to draw lazy circles on her arm with his fingers.

"So how are you two coming along with the shop?" Hermione piped up, genuinely curious as to how the two were doing with it. There was no denying that they had managed to do well by finding a place so soon.

George was the first to answer, though kept his gaze somewhere off in the distance. "It's going all right, there are some bits and bobs we need to fix before we can actually decorate, but it's not too shabby."

"We even managed to rent a small flat above it for us to stay," Fred added, but his movements stilled as soon as he felt Hermione tense up. Craning her head to the side so she could partially look at him, she shot him an inquiring look. She hadn't heard of that plan yet.

"D'you mean to say you're moving out?" Hermione asked, then turned her head back so the strain on her neck would go away.

Gently, Fred's fingers picked up their pace again, now trailing down to her hand before intertwining them. "Yeah, it'll be a lot easier for us once we've opened up, y'know," He explained, and George chimed in to elaborate a little further. "Nothing's official, though. We've spoken to the landlord and he's desperate to get rid of the owner. Always pays the rent, but never shows up."

"Yeah, once he's out, we'll be able to get in. Until then, we're staying here." Fred concluded, putting Hermione a little bit more at ease. At least she would still have some time to spend with him then.

"You're welcome to help us out tomorrow, if you want." George proposed.

"Baffle us a bit with your magic and all," Fred smirked.

Chuckling, she nodded in agreement. "All right, I'll come and help you out a bit." It's not like she had anything better to do.

"Oh right, that reminds me," George said, then groaned as he shot up a little too quickly, clearly getting dizzy as he swayed on his spot, before hunching down to grab something from underneath the bed.

"We created this new game, but haven't had the chance to try it out yet." George explained, pulling a big box from underneath and laying it on top of his bed.

"Blimey, I forgot about that, right we do, Georgie," Fred said, then lightly pressed against Hermione's back so she would lean forward so he could sit straight again.

Intrigued, Hermione watched George take out a set of cards and some pastels. "Hang on, those have been tested, haven't they?" Hermione asked in suspicion.

Fred and George shared a cheeky look. "Won't be making the same mistake second time around. Of course they've been tested."

"All right then, so what do we do?" At this George shuffled the cards and laid them on the floor in between the beds. All three of them moved to the floor, crossed their legs and encircled the cards. "D'you know the Muggle Game 'Hedbanz'?"

When Hermione nodded, he pulled off the top card and turned it around, showing a soccer ball on it. 

"Dad brought one home some time ago. He actually had to confiscate it, because it had been mingled with magic, but he couldn't bear to do so, because it intrigued him too much." Fred quickly piped in to give some background story.

"Gave us this brilliant idea to twist with it a little." George added.

"What you do is you take a card, tap it with your wand and then the pastel, and proceed to eat the pastel," Fred began to explain, and naturally George continued. "It will take a second, but gradually you'll turn into said card, and others are free to help you figure out what or who you are."

Smiling, Hermione nodded in approval. "That sounds like fun."

Both boys grinned. "Of course it does," and with that George commenced, taking a new card without flipping it over this time, tapped it with his wand and then the pastel, and put it in his mouth.

Just like he said, his head slowly began to grow a deep shade of red, some red dots splatted across it, with a black line masking his nose. He even sprouted antennae.

Turned out that they had only thirty seconds to give George hints that he was now, in fact, a lady bug, and thus the fun began.


	42. Back to business

**Whispers in the dark**

**Chapter 42: Back to business **

_**A/N: **__I own nothing except my mistakes__. __**Also**__, I got a lot of you saying that you would have liked to see what happened during the fight at the Ministry, and thus I'm willing to give you what you want. I can't include it in this story, but I can make a separate one-shot for it! Just an entire chapter dedicated to that event. Please review and tell me whether you would like that or not. If majority of you votes in, then I'll post it one of these days for you lovelies!_

Nuzzling her head into her pillow, she let out a soft exhalation of satisfaction as she felt a surge of warmth wrap around her body, swaying her into a gentle wake up as she stretched out her limbs. At least, that's what she tried to do until there was a point that she could stretch no further before bumping into something bony and warm.

Letting out a yelp, Hermione turned her head around and watched in shock as Fred was laying there, his head lazily supported by his hand as he laid on his side, spooning her.

A wicked grin danced on his lips as he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. All that did was earn him a nice smack on the arm from Hermione and a long string of curse words from his sister that had grumpily woken up from Hermione's previous yelp.

"Rise and shine," Fred drawled as Hermione tried to shove him out of her bed. "Sod off, Fred. It's too bloody early," Ginny growled from the other side of the room after having glanced at the darkness that still came through the window.

"What time is it, anyway?" Hermione croaked, having giving up on shoving him out as it appeared he wasn't going to budge. Instead, she let herself fall back into her pillow as she tried to rub the sleep out of her eyes.

She hadn't been able to sleep much last night, because the twins and her had gone off playing longer than intended. She doubted that she had gotten even more than five hours of sleep.

"It's six in the morning, now get your pretty arse out of bed and join us for breakfast. We've got work to do," Fred chimed, not bothering to lower his voice, even though Ginny growled as he spoke.

"All right, all right, I'll be there in a second." Hermione grumbled softly.

"You better, or I'll personally drag you out of this bed myself." And with that the warmth left her back as Fred slipped away from underneath the covers, leaving a cold in his absence as she heard the door click shut behind her.

Taking one last big stretch she knew she had to get out of the bed right now, or else risk falling asleep before she could even close her eyes.

Feeling absolutely knackered, she couldn't blame anyone but herself for agreeing to help the twins at their shop today. The chilliness of her feet slipping into a set of slippers laying disregarded under her bed reminded her of that.

Trying to make as little noise as possible she clambered off the stairs, she was glad that Ginny's bedroom was only on the first floor, and therefore she could leave the stairs in a heartbeat as it had been creaking like mad. Due to the warm temperature at day that Summer brought, the nights still remained remotely cool this early on, and thus the old, moulded wood that were the Weasley's stairs were often increasing and decreasing in size overnight, leaving them to play an orchestra of all kind of unwanted sounds whenever you descended it.

To her surprise the twins were already dressed, and as good as finished with their breakfast when she came downstairs, and she couldn't help but glare at them suspiciously as she went to sit herself down next to Fred.

"When in heavens have you two become morning persons?" Hermione asked, though her voice came out a bit strained as it had become rather dry overnight.

Groaning, she stood up from her chair again as she let her feet drag over the floor as she walked over to the sink, turning the tap on and letting it fill with some nice, cold water. Usually she was a morning person, too, just not when she had barely gotten any sleep.

"A business isn't created whilst sleeping," George spoke, though he sounded a little less awake than Fred had done. "Though we're still figuring out how we can make a product that will do that job." Fred added, an intrigued look washing over his face as he was surely thinking about the possibilities.

Hermione winced a little as her glass made contact with the table below it with a bit more sound than she would have liked, and hoped she hadn't woken up anyone due to it.

Taking a long sip, she had to take a quick breath before she could speak again. "So, what's the plan for today, anyway?"

Fred handed her the butter and bread, lazily resting his head on his hand as his elbow was propped on the table.

"We finished the layout for the store a few days ago. Need to fix the position of a few things, although that shouldn't take too long." George began, his eyes drifting upwards a little as he tried to picture the store. "If all goes well, we actually want to try and see if we can start decorating."

Hermione nodded in approval, forcing the piece of bread down her throat as she wasn't feeling that hungry yet.

After finishing her breakfast she quickly excused herself to freshen up a little bit, and after ten more minutes she was back down and ready to set off with them.

"Did you have your apparition lessons yet?" Fred inquired, but Hermione shook her head. "I'll be getting them this year."

Furrowing his eyebrows, he shook his head. Though it seemed more directed at himself than at her. "Blimey, I forgot. Of course you do."

At this George opened the back door of the kitchen, releasing a chill wind to go down her legs, making her wrap her jacket around her body for some much needed warmth.

"Best hold on to me, then." Fred said, and with that she followed the boys outside, until they were at a safe distance from the Burrow where they could apparate.

With a nasty lunge they were pulled from the Burrow to Diagon Alley, and though the sun was slowly making its way to the sky, there was barely a single soul wandering around the streets. It did feel quite odd to be here at such a time with no shops open to visit.

They had to walk a few feet before reaching the twins' store, but when they arrived Hermione couldn't help but let out a sound of awe, her eyes gliding over the tall building, holding many windows that had been recently cleaned and painted orange.

"D'you see that empty spot over there?" Fred asked, his body easily resting into her as he pointed at the middle part of the building a bit above the door.

Nodding, she indeed noticed a rather grand spot that looked like it was making place for something bigger. "We've got a wicked idea for that one, but we're not too sure if we can make it work yet."

At this George intervened. "Don't tell her yet! It'll be a great surprise once everything is up and running-," then turned to look at Hermione. "I promise you, it will definitely be worth the wait."

Chuckling, Hermione took one last curious look at the empty spot before following the boys inside. "I'll have to take your word for it, then."

The twins really weren't joking around when they said they had the layout finished already. Although the inside so far only contained rows of shelves and a stair spiralling up to the other floors, it had already a look of great promise to it.

"This is incredible," Hermione whispered in awe, finding something new every time she turned her body in a different direction.

Fred and George shared a proud grin, then propped their arms in front of their chest at exactly the same time. "Just wait until it'll be ready for business, it's going to be absolutely phenomenal."

"I don't doubt that," Hermione agreed, eyeing the set of boxes containing all their products laying in a deserted corner.

"I s'pose you're going to need an extra hand to run it all once it does," Hermione observed as she noticed that the store went up three high.

"We do," George agreed, following her gaze. "Though we think we'll manage most with just the two of us."

"Yeah, we don't want to spend all our well-earnt money on employees-," Fred added.

"After all, how are we supposed to create new products, then?"

"Besides, no one knows our products better than we do-,"

"We'll be the best salesmen to make it work."

"Though we're thinking to hire someone for the checkout and stock ups-,"

"Like that we can focus on the rest."

"You'd be welcome to help us during holidays, though-,"

"Yeah, no one we'd trust more with this shop than you, 'Mione." George finished.

Hermione raised her eyebrows as she released a soft chuckle. They hadn't done that in a while, continuing each other's conversation. It was nice to hear again after so long.

"Well, I'd be happy to help if I have time." Hermione nodded, then approached the set of boxes. "Is this all you'll start with?" She inquired, curiously looking through them, though cautious to not touch anything. Merlin knows what they carried in it, and whether it was explosive or not.

"Ah, I'm glad you ask," Fred grinned as he stretched his arm out to the right, pointing at a ladder going up.

"I'd use that for now, if I were you. The stairs are still quite wet from painting them yesterday," Fred advised, and upon saying this she could indeed now make out the tangy scent she had smelled upon entering the shop.

The stairs had been painted in all sorts of oranges and yellows and blues on the side. It did make it a lot brighter and cheerfuller to look at.

Taking Fred's advice, she took a hold of the ladder, though let out a soft yelp as she felt it shake underneath her touch.

"Oh right, it's a bit wonky, but it still does the trick." Fred sheepishly added, though smugly reached out to place his hands underneath her butt, keeping her stable. "Fred!" Hermione gasped, but only heard laughter from him as well as a teasing groan from George. "Save it for the bedroom, lovebirds."

"D'you mean the one I share with you?" Fred countered, a smirk playing on his lips.

At this Hermione could see George's face contort in slight discomfort as she looked down to the ground whilst she was still climbing up the ladder. "Right, maybe don't."

With one last push from Fred to her butt – yes, he hadn't taken his hands away yet – she managed to prop herself over the railing onto the first floor, and waited for the twins to join her.

"Obviously the boxes from downstairs will not be enough to sustain the opening of the joke shop, let alone cover even the tiniest bit of it." Fred began.

"And though Mum has come around to the idea of us starting this shop, she's not a fan of us constantly brewing at the Burrow. Gives a bit of a nasty smell, you see."

"Besides, we're here most of the days, anyway. And thus we've created this little corner here to brew and create more of what's downstairs."

"Consider the stack of boxes downstairs as a sample. It's one of each, and will tell us exactly where to put it in the store."

"Of course once we've opened we'll need another location for the creating and brewing, but by then we hope to have bought that flat above us."

"Would be great for storage, too. There's a basement down here in the building, but it's not a basement, really."

"Yeah, they claimed it as such, but turned out it was no bigger than the size of a broom cupboard."

Grinning, Hermione nodded as she peeked downstairs, noting two different doors downstairs. Presumably one leading to that 'basement' and the other to the flat above them. "Surely you'll be able to get it, won't you? I mean, it's quite a part of the shop."

The twins nodded in agreement. "And otherwise we'll just have to use other means of persuasion," George wickedly grinned, earning him a light scoff from Hermione.

After showing her around for a bit more, they spent the rest of the day figuring out how to best place their products. What would be more accessible, and what to combine with what. It required a bit of puzzle work, but at the end of the day they managed to fill each set-out shelf and cabinet with a sample box and were quite satisfied with the result for now.

Of course, things could always change before the opening, perhaps if the twins would come up with new ideas for their products, but for now it gave them both a renewed spark of motivation to continue their brewing tomorrow.

By now the three of them had locked up the store again, gone back to the Burrow and had joined the family just in time for dinner, before secluding themselves in the living room.

Whilst Ron was helping his parents clean the kitchen after dinner, and George was chasing Ginny around in the garden as he was holding something nasty that Hermione couldn't quite make out, Fred and her had taken place on a couch.

Releasing a satisfied sigh, she let herself rest against Fred's chest as he was sprawled out on the couch, his legs dangling off the back of it to make a bit of space for Hermione to lay between them. Fred was tracing light circles with his fingers over her back, whilst pulling her close to him with his other hand, a low, soft humming of contentment brewing in the back of his throat.

It felt good after a long day of hard work to lay down with him like this on the couch, for once not having anyone around them and to just have a moment for each other. Feeling the low rise and fall of his stomach against her head, she took a moment to just lay there and enjoy, knowing that after the holidays she'd have to do long periods of it without moments like these.

At last she popped her head slightly up, and he shot her a warm smile and a soft chuckle as he gently removed some hair from her cheek. Smiling in return, she wordlessly leaned in closer, capturing his lips as she lowly hummed in approval at the feel of it.

At this his hands tightened their grip on her back, pushing her even closer than she thought possible, his heart slightly racing up as it beat against her resting arm on his chest.

Allowing his tongue to slip in, she welcomed the slight awkward feeling as she was still figuring out what to do in return without making it feel horrible, but tried to relax in it as much as possible, her free hand roaming gentle against the back of his neck as it slowly moved through his hair.

Rustling a bit through his hair, he let out a soft moan as he deepened the kiss, a deep groan following as a set of footsteps loudly introduced themselves, forcing the two of them to break apart from their kiss. "Starting the fun without me, I see." George teased, heavily letting himself drop on the opposite couch.

"Just in time to ruin it, dear brother." Fred joked, though a bit strained as Hermione could hear the low grumbling in the back of his throat. Smiling to herself, she let herself rest back against his chest as the two brothers commenced their bickering.


	43. Midnight strolls

**Whispers in the dark**

**Chapter 43: Midnight strolls**

_**A/N: **__I own nothing except my mistakes._

Something that would happen all the time as a result of your parents being dentists, is that every time that you brushed your teeth, you did so as if your entire life depended on it. This time it was no exception, as Hermione furiously let the bristles of the toothbrush wield over her teeth to scrape off all leftovers from her dinner earlier on.

Though she had been brushing her teeth for well over two minutes, she quite enjoyed the soothing massage it gave her gums, and so she continued for a little longer.

Almost choking on her toothpaste as the bathroom door was suddenly opened behind her, she grumbled under her breath as she couldn't curse out loud right now, or else she'd spit everything out. The redhead in front of her just grinned at her, before closing the door behind him and this time locking it.

"I know my beauty can be dazzling at times, but no need to be this startled." Fred said, propping her a grin before immediately pulling his shirt over his head, revealing a rather blindingly white chest, though there was a subtle hint of muscle definition from all of his Quidditch years.

Flustered, she quickly turned around, realizing that she had never seen him without any clothes on, as they hadn't gone quite further than kissing up till this point.

Quickly spitting out her toothpaste and rinsing her mouth with water, she came back up and made a point of it to avoid the mirror as she could hear the unbuckling of a belt behind her. "What are you doing here, Fred?"

"Taking a shower, 'course," He bluntly stated, a soft thud following as presumably his pants fell down onto the floor, him stepping out of them. "Couldn't you wait for a second longer? I was kind of planning on doing the same."

"Brilliant, you can come and join me then." At this Hermione caught his eye in the mirror for a split second, noticing his cheeky grin, and decided to throw him a squint of her eyes. Careful to not let her eyes roam down, she held her breath as she averted her eyes from the mirror again as she noticed him pulling on his underwear.

"Oh Merlin, what in heavens name are you up to, Fred?" Hermione squeaked, not quite knowing where to look or how to stand. "You can't possibly think I'll be showering in my briefs, now can you?"

Shaking her head, she heard him pull the shower curtain to the side behind her, as well as turning the tap on, letting the rushing sound of water fill up the short silence in the small bathroom. "I can't believe you, Fred Weasley."

At this Hermione made way for the door, all the while trying to look anywhere but at the shower, but before she could even make it to the door, she felt a hot splash of water cover her entire body. "Oi, where are you off to?"

Gasping, she wheeled around at Fred, though quite frankly wished she hadn't, as he stood there in all its glory, a massive grin plastered on his face as his hair hung sadly down the sides of his head, stuck to it as the gushing water trailed down his face.

Averting her eyes once more as she felt the heat quickly travel up to her face, she silently scolded him for being so blunt about everything. Honestly, did that boy not know shame?

"Thought you wanted to take a shower," Fred countered, the smugness in his voice apparent.

Shaking her head, she put a hand in front of her face as she waved around with her hand to try and shut the shower curtain. "Careful there, might grab onto something else than you had planned." Fred cheekily spoke, clearly enjoying this far more than she did.

Feeling her face heat up more, she was relieved to feel the soft fabric under her touch, and quickly yanked it to the side again so it would close and she could drop her hand.

"Now that you're decent again, I'll be leaving. Make sure to lock after me," Hermione spoke, a little breathlessly as she still felt rather flustered.

"Oh, c'mon, 'Mione, you're wet already. Might as well join," Fred suggested, his hand slipping through the curtain as another rush of water fell onto her, making her squeal in surprise.

The booming of Fred's laughter through the small bathroom almost silenced the commotion that was starting to happen outside of the small room, and deciding to leave Fred to his own amusement, she unlocked the door and was happy to escape her previous situation.

Sure, she had been thinking about taking things a step further, but not like this. Not like some rushed shower ordeal, where the sound travelled louder throughout the house than any place else.

"Is he up there with you, nosy?" Hermione could hear Ginny ask as soon as she had stepped out of the bathroom.

"'Course not, I would've known if my best friend would've been up here with me, wouldn't I?" Ron replied, and Hermione took this as her chance to advance to the railway, leaning over it to already see two heads glancing down as well. Ron and Molly's, both staring at Ginny down the stairs.

For a second Hermione thought Ron was talking about her, but then figured it wouldn't make much sense. Why would any of them be so vividly looking for her as they clearly could have heard that she was up here?

At this the running water stopped, and as it did she heard a light scooting from an owl coming from downstairs. "Is that an owl I heard?" Hermione asked in surprise, not quite knowing why there would be an owl down the stairs. She knew for a fact that Pigwidgeon was up in Ron's room.

"You haven't seen him, have you? Apparently he's wondering around the house." Ginny asked, and Hermione had already made the connection that she must have been speaking about Harry. But how could he? He hadn't written to any of them about planning to come and visit any time soon.

"Really?" Hermione asked, but a male voice coming from downstairs confirmed it. "Really," Harry said.

At this all three of them rushed down the stairs, taking turns in taking him in for a hug, him explaining why he made his sudden arrival: Dumbledore had taken him for a ride.

Just as he had finished speaking, another redhead came from upstairs, his hair wet and rustled, and his green pyjamas hung loosely on his body.

At this Harry, as well as the others, shared a curious look between the two of them, taking in Fred's drenched hair, as well as Hermione's partially wet hair and clothes.

Blushing slightly, she heard Fred lightly chuckle under his breath as he slipped his arm around her waist, pulling her into him slightly as he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at Harry, making the latter scoff out a grin.

"C'mon, Harry, I'll help you carry those upstairs," Ron said, taking his trunk into his hand as Harry lifted up Hedwig's cage.

Hermione shot Fred a warm smile before slipping out of his grasp, following the boys all the way upstairs and into Ron's bedroom.

Dropping Harry's luggage on the spare bed, Ron heaved a satisfied sigh as he let himself slide against the side of his bed, placing himself on the ground. Harry followed, and Hermione decided to join the boys on the floor, propping her legs up and lighting a newspaper to warm herself up a bit. Her wet clothes were really making her feel rather chilly the longer she sat down.

"So when did you get here?" Harry asked her. Biting her lip in thought, she thought back to when exactly she arrived, for it felt longer than it surely had been. "Two weeks, I think." Hermione spoke hesitantly, but then nodded firmly in confirmation.

"Yeah, wasn't quite sure whether you'd be able to come," Ron piped in, earning him a confused look from Harry. "Mum sort of lost it last week, thinking it would be too dangerous for me and Ginny to go back to Hogwarts."

At this the three of them had a bit of a discussion about the safety of Hogwarts, and ended with a good laugh as they tried to think of Dumbledore's age. Deciding to give Harry a bit of rest, as it seemed like he had had a long night, she said the boys goodbye as she made her way to Ginny's room.

Though she desperately tried to sleep, the booming echoes of thunder kept her wide awake as she kept turning and twisting, willing herself to fall asleep, but to no avail.

Letting out a soft frustrated groan, she cringed slightly as her bed squeaked loudly upon leaving it, and hurriedly made her way out of the bedroom as to not wake Ginny, who managed to sleep without a problem in the world.

It had been a good while since she had been trying to sleep, so it was to no surprise that she found the entire house dark and empty, hearing a couple of snores coming from upstairs.

Not wanting to wake anyone up, she tried to silently make her way down the stairs, but the latter seemed to have something entirely else in mind, as it squeaked and creaked like it had never wanted to howl this loud.

Deciding to rip the band-aid off, she made a last sprint of it to cut the agony of the wooden stairs, and let out a breath of relief as she now silently made it into the kitchen.

Though some would find it a little eerie to sit in such a big house with as many windows as the Weasleys did, surrounded in complete darkness with a raging thunder above their heads, it did feel quite calming to her. Well, besides the raging thunder, that was. There wasn't much that could scare Hermione, but thunder had always done it for her ever since she had been a child.

Not long after another squeaking of the stairs was heard, and Hermione immediately wheeled around on her chair, watching with relief as it was just Fred, his hair still ruffled as he came to sit beside her.

"How did you know I was down here?" Hermione sort of whispered, not wanting to risk waking anyone else up.

"I could hear it in your breathing," Fred began, then added a cheeky grin, "then again, the obnoxious loud screeching also rather gave it away."

Sheepishly grinning, she stifled a yawn as she let her head rest against her hand, her elbow propped up on the table.

"Why are you down here?" Fred countered, and Hermione gave him a sleepy smile. "There's something about thunder that I just really hate." Hermione explained, and Fred nodded half-heartedly.

"Y'know," Hermione began, then furrowed her eyebrows together a little as if in thought. "I know it's only July still, but I can't help but wonder about next schoolyear."

"What about it?" Fred inquired, not bothering to stifle his yawn. Shrugging, she didn't quite know whether to bore him with his thoughts, but then figured it would be better than silence. "Don't get me wrong, so far I still do enjoy being together, but how in Merlin's name are we going to make this work when we'll be constantly apart?"

There she said it. The worries that have kept her awake far more times than thunder had done.

Fred laughed, but when Hermione didn't join him, he let his laugh die out as he heaved a big sigh. "Look, I know we won't constantly be around each other, but I can promise you, it will be like as if I never even left." Fred assured her, though it wasn't entirely working yet.

"I know we can hear each other, it's just not the same." Hermione countered, but he quickly shook his head. "No, I didn't mean the hearing. There are other ways to keep me close, you know," Fred spoke suggestively, a lopsided grin hanging on his face.

"How so?" Hermione curiously inquired, but Fred wouldn't give in. "It wouldn't be fun if I'd spoil the surprise now, now would it?"

Heaving a sigh, she figured he was right.

"Now come here," Fred said, stretching his arms out wide as he wiggled his eyebrows playfully.

Letting out a chuckle, she removed herself from her own chair, and sat herself down on his lap, sitting sideways so she could let her head rest into the nook of his neck, nuzzling it in there as she breathed in his musky scent.

Releasing a satisfied sound, she let her eyes close as she felt the trailing of his fingers against the side of her body, the rumbling thunder in the background feeling far less scary as she laid here in his embrace, enjoying the slow fall and rising of his chest with his every inhalation and exhalation.

"We should go to bed," Fred spoke after a while, and Hermione followed his gaze to the clock on the wall, showing it was a little past two in the morning. Blimey, had it been that late already?

"Yeah, you should head off. I'll stay here, I don't think I'll be able to sleep." Hermione said as she got up from his lap, stretching out her legs a bit as he did the same, before standing up himself.

"I meant _we _should head off to my bed." Fred smirked, taking Hermione by surprise. "Only if you don't mind, of course."

Feeling her heart speed up, she shook her head and let him lead the way to his bedroom, the creaking of the stairs being the only evidence of the fact that tonight wasn't in fact a dream.

At last they had arrived at the twins' bedroom, and Fred opened the door very carefully as to not wake George. Merlin knows how bad he would tease the two of them if he were to see them right now.

Giving her his clear, she followed him inside and shut the door behind her, before letting him grab her hand so he could lead her to his bed in this absolute darkness.

Letting her slip in first, she scooted a little more to the wall as to give him some space in the far too tiny single bed, but they managed all right when they both turned on their side. Fred was quick to take her into his arms as he cuddled her from behind, nuzzling his face in her neck this time, the rapid beating of his heart echoing against her back. Clearly it was a big deal for him too to lay in such close proximity together for the first time.

Hermione hadn't expected more from this night than some simple cuddling, and was more than all right with the fact that it remained with that. It was, after all, already a big step further into their relationship, and she was more than happy to not rush into things.

Besides, she was already glad that by now, she could finally fall asleep with some thunder rumbling in the background. That, to her, was priceless.

x

Groaning, Hermione stretched her limbs carefully next morning as to not kick Fred in the shins, as he tried to do the same. Feeling his warm hand leave her stomach, she rustled her hair with her hand as she came to sit straight up.

"Bloody hell, it's eleven in the morning already," Fred mumbled, turning back to her after he had checked his pocket-watch that had been laying on the bedside table.

"Sorry about that," Hermione croakily apologised, knowing the twins' usually liked to wake up early so they could have a longer time working at the shop.

Fred brushed her off, letting his legs dangle off the side of the bed before slowly standing up. "Don't fret it, we'll catch up tomorrow." Fred dismissed her, then shot her a playful grin. "D'you think George has spread rumours yet?"

At this Hermione looked at the empty bed at the other corner, and let out a big groan. "Oh Merlin, I sure do hope not."

At this Fred laughed, opening the bedroom door and waited for her to follow. "Only one way to find out."

With that thought in mind they made their way down the many stairs, until at last they arrived in the kitchen. Molly was busy cleaning some utensils, and it seemed like Ginny and Ron were either still asleep, or off somewhere other than downstairs.

George, however, was still munching on a piece of toast, and smugly looked up as they entered. "Morning," he drawled, catching Molly's attention as well.

"There you are," Molly said, scurrying over to Hermione as the latter took a seat the table. "These arrived this morning, I s'pose it's your O.W.L results. Got a letter for Ron, too, but he's still vast asleep."

Hermione eagerly took the letter, though felt her heart thump against her chest. Though her fingers were shaky, she finally managed to open the envelope, and quickly skimmed her grades:

_Study of Ancient Runes: O_

_Arithmancy: O_

_Astronomy: O _

_Care of Magical Creatures: O _

_Charms: O_

_DADA: E_

_Herbology: O_

_History of Magic: O_

_Potions: O_

_Transfiguration: O_

"Blimey, Hermione, it seems like there will be no need to return for you to school this year with those results," Fred exclaimed in pride, having read with her over her shoulder. Letting Molly read the results as well, Hermione basked in the many compliments she had been given as Molly told her how proud she was.

At least that made her forget about all the teasing that would soon follow from George about Fred and her sleeping in the same bed last night.


	44. A banger of a night

**Whispers in the dark**

**Chapter 44: A banger of a night**

_**A/N: **__I own nothing except my mistakes._

_**Also, **__sorry for this late update! I moved houses and didn't have time to update this story until now_

"Stay there a little longer and some might think that you're ready to go down the path of a new career as a living statue," Fred taunted as he rose a little further up in the sky. His grip firm on his broom as he looked completely at ease on a simple wooden stick.

Hermione, on the other hand, had been frozen on the spot with a broom between her legs, dubiously looking between the ground and Fred, seriously contemplating why she had even said yes to a game of Quidditch in the first place.

Mind you, she did not like Quidditch that much. Sure, she would grab an occasional match or two, just for fun. But it didn't keep her busy as it did with Harry or Ron, or even the twins for that matter. She usually preferred to keep to her books, safe and sound on the ground as she would watch the others soar through the sky.

And yet, when Hermione had been woken up this morning by the softest of kisses being planted all over her neck and shoulders – ever since that night during the thunder less than a week ago, she had been sleeping over in his bed, leaving her own empty and cold – she had said yes to a game of Quidditch before she could even process what exactly she had said yes to.

Apparently Fred had cleverly thought that proposal through, because he had made sure that she had stuck to her word all day, as reluctant as she was.

"You're not going to tell me that you're afraid of heights, are you, Granger?" Fred teased, but upon seeing her whitened face his grin fell in an instant. "You _are _afraid of heights!"

Scrunching up her nose in light embarrassment, she shook her head furiously. "Not afraid of heights," she protested. "Just not fond of the idea of getting myself so far up in the sky on such a feeble piece of wood, ready to await my death."

Fred let out a hearty laugh.

"Blimey, I think I first need to take that feeble piece of stick out of your arse before you can even get up here." He said as he shook his head in disbelief, lowering himself to the ground so he could stand before her.

"At least tell me you've flown before," he practically pleaded. Rolling her eyes, she huffed as she took a bit of a tighter grip on her broom. "Of course I have," then as an afterthought added, "Back in first year, that was."

At this his mouth dropped wide open. "I did not know I was capable of feeling second-hand embarrassment, Hermione, and yet I feel engulfed by it at this very moment."

Pinching her lips together, she let go of her broom so she could give a good thud against his chest. "I do not need you to make fun of me, Fred Weasley."

"All right, all right, I will teach you." Fred proclaimed, puffing his chest forward a little as he straightened his back. "Mark my words, Hermione Granger. At the end of this year you'll be an excellent flyer."

Chuckling, she watched as he positioned himself back on his broom again.

"But first, I really do need you to kick off from the ground." Fred said, and at the same time he kicked off from the ground himself, showing her how it's done. "It's a bit more difficult flying from the ground, y'know."

Grinning, Hermione felt her muscles ease up a little as she placed both hands back on her broom, taking in a deep breath as she dug her feet into the ground below her. Bracing herself for her last seconds on firm ground, she exhaled as she kicked off, allowing a hitched breath to escape as she took in the estranged feeling of being back up in the air.

As it had been technically correct that she hadn't flown since her First Year, it wasn't entirely true that she hadn't been up in the sky since then. Back in her third year she had been on Buckbeak's back as they had saved Sirius, as well as just a month ago when she had been riding on the back of a Thestral, again on their way to save Sirius. The thing is, at both those times someone else had flown for her.

"There you go," Fred cheered her on, his eyes carefully watching her wobbly form. "Easy there," he muttered softly, more to himself than to her.

Although he had already moved in a little so he could catch her if she were to fall, it turned out that as long as she didn't let her eyes travel down to the ground below her, then she could hold herself steady quite well.

"Atta girl," he approved, and that simple sentence almost got her wobbling again as she felt her heart raise a little.

Feeling the tugging of her lips as the corners of it pulled up, she let out a shaky breath as she tried to move around a little.

"All right, I think we're ready for some diving." Fred spoke after Hermione had been flying around a little, getting accustomed to the feeling of being in the air again. Though her fingers still felt tingly, she did begin to feel more of a thrilling rush. Mainly because she was rather proud of herself that she hadn't fallen off yet.

"Diving? I don't think I'm ready for that yet," Hermione immediately protested.

"Of course you are," Fred argued, and before she knew it he had soared down to the ground, picked something up, and launched whatever it was straight at her face, forcing her to yank her broom downwards so she could escape whatever was coming for her.

Out of breath, she gasped in exasperation once she had recovered from her sudden dive. Gliding her eyes to Fred – who was cheekily balancing himself in the air – she hoped to shoot him a death glare, but was caught short when he threw yet another thing at her.

Flying forwards, she hoped to not have to resort to diving again as she tried to outfly her attacker, but when she shot a quick look over her shoulder, she found that the ball that Fred had thrown her way was quickly catching up with her, leaving her no choice but to dive deep towards the ground so she could escape from its wrath.

As she dived down in rapid speed, she was only able to pull back up a little just before almost crashing into the ground, and it got her heart raising to such an extent that she felt the loud booming of her heartbeat in her ears.

"I can't believe you did that," Hermione said exasperated.

Smirking, he lowered himself a little so he could be levelled with her. "Would you have done it if I hadn't?"

Chewing on her lip, she was reluctant to admit that he was right, but felt like she did quite owe him a little, and thus she decided to admit it anyway. "I guess you're right," she mumbled, not giving him the satisfaction of letting him hear the gratitude in her voice.

"'Course I am," Fred smugly smirked. "Ready for a game of Quidditch then?"

Looking over his shoulder to the already current game of Quidditch being played in the background by his siblings, she heaved a sigh as she shrugged her shoulders. "I dunno, Fred. I've never played Quidditch before," she admitted.

Trying to not look offended, he placed his broom next to hers as his sweet brown eyes gazed gently at her. "But you know the rules, don't you?"

Nodding carefully, he offered her a smile as he laid a hand on hers, squeezing it slightly. "C'mon then, I'll help you as we go."

Not wanting to have done the effort of trying to fly for nothing, she nodded in reluctance as she carefully flew after him, all the way to the far back of the garden where the others were just rounding up a game.

"Mind if we join you, fellows?" Fred cheekily asked, immediately soaring over to his twin brother as the latter handed him a bat.

"Hang on, _we _as in Hermione joins as well?" Ron asked incredulously.

"No, we as in me and Auntie Mary," Fred taunted. "'Course as in me and Hermione, you daft dimbo." Although, the latter only Hermione and George could hear, as he had lowered his voice for that.

"D'you even know how to fly?" Ron asked, turning to look at her.

Trying to not feel offended by that question, she nodded – a little too vigorously as it sent her wobbling slightly – but only got a dubious look from Ron in return.

"No offence, Hermione," Harry chimed in, a little hesitant. Obviously he was expecting her to get mad at him. "But d'you even know how to play?"

"No," Hermione admitted sheepishly.

"I'll teach her as we go," Fred jumped in before Hermione could say another word. "So shall we keep chit-chatting, or just get on with it?"

"Hear hear, brother," George agreed.

With that the match commenced, the six of them being divided in groups of three. In her team were Fred and Ginny, and in the other team were Ron, Harry and George.

Fred was made beater, Ginny would go as chaser, and Hermione was set as keeper, figuring that would be the easiest and safest position to be in for her first ever Quidditch match. To say that Hermione was scared to her bones was a high understatement.

Luckily for her, though, she had a great sportsman on the team as Fred would more often than not come in and save the day for her. He practically took on the role of Keeper as well, as he would soar in mad speed through the sky so he could save the ball from going through the half-rotten wooden hoops that had been planted in the garden by the Weasleys. Only when Hermione was already at a certain hoop did he let her save it. But when it would come to defending the others, he'd be there, practically cheating the game as he defended it all.

Surprisingly, her team won, even with all of Fred's dual playing, and as the sun began to set they all slouched towards the house, Ron groaning a little in the back row as he rambled on about how that match hadn't been won fair.

That moaning, however, only gave the twins motivation to fall back to Ron's side, so they could tease Merlin's pants off him, about how he had been beaten by not just one, but two girls. And one of them being a rookie in it.

Hermione would lie if she said that it didn't make her smile. Today she faced one of her biggest fears, and to be honest, she was glad that she had done so. Though the thought of getting back on a broom didn't appeal to her still, it at least didn't get her shaking to her knees. That, to her, sounded like progress.

"Tired?" A voice spoke softly in her ear as she felt a heavy weight rest on her shoulder.

Fred had caught up with her when he had decided he was done teasing Ron, and instead he had wrapped an arm around her shoulder as she had tried to stifle a yawn.

Smiling sleepily, she nodded her head as she let herself fall down on a chair at the dining table.

Fred followed suit, and grabbed a piece of bread to chew on – although he did get smacked against the back of his head by Molly, fussing as she carried three sets of pans through a levitation charm towards the table – clearly having gotten an appetite from all the physical exertion.

"You did well today," he complimented, making her cheeks heat up a little as a smile spread on her face.

"You lovebirds flirting again?" George said as he joined the table, taking the other side of her as he went and grabbed a piece of bread as well. "Oh, honestly, you two. Dinner will be served in a minute," Molly scolded as she, too, hit George against the back of his head.

Grinning, George paid his mother no mind as he turned back to her and Fred. "I wouldn't flirt too much, though," he innocently advised, letting his eyes travel from her to Fred before a grin slipped onto his face. "I'd hate to hear the banging of walls tonight."

Exasperated, Hermione didn't know how quickly she needed to hide her face. "Oh, don't pretend you don't like the sound of it, little brother." Fred played along, a cheeky grin following on his face as well, clearly amused by her reaction.

"We do not bang at night," Hermione promptly stated to redeem herself, but then noticed her choice of words and felt like crumbling to the ground out of shame. A booming laughter carried all the way from the kitchen into the living room, as a set of curious heads came popping in. "Anything I missed?" Came in Arthur, an innocent look on his face.

"Not at all, Dad," Fred smirked, his eyes lingering on Hermione's as he looked her over intently.

"I'm just saying, that if you two decide to do so anyway, I'd appreciate it if you'd find another room for it." George spoke, this time a little softer as more people joined for dinner. As for Hermione, she figured it would be wiser to sleep in her own bed tonight, or else George might not say that as soft as he did today. Next time, he'd be saying it loud and proud, of that she was sure. Darn those bloody twins and their teasing.


End file.
